Remembering Ken Rice
PFS lost a long-time member, Ken Rice, 74, when he passed away on January 29, 2023. Ken, and his wife Ellie Douglas Rice, are well known in PFS as they organized Singtime Frolics for about 10 years when it was at Camp Adams, and held house concerts and song circles for many years. They are pictured here when they played and sang at Sara Kauffman’s wedding to Garry DeLong. Ken was a lifetime member of PFS.
Unfortunately, both Ken and Ellie have had numerous health problems in recent years, so they haven’t been able to host PFS events in recent years. Since 2018, Ken and Ellie have lived in Marquis Care assisted living community in Forest Grove, OR. Ken’s passing was somewhat unexpected, following a very recent medical issue.
Kenneth Marshal Rice was born October 3, 1948, and raised in Palo Alto, California until 1956, when he and his family moved to San Carlos, California. Ken graduated from San Carlos High School Class of 1966, then attended the College of San Mateo, receiving an associate arts degree. He was a Veteran of the Vietnam era, having served one enlistment in the United States Air Force, until he received his honorable discharge.
Ken was living in Seattle when he and Ellie met in the early 1990’s. He had worked as a technical writer in the technology industry for Underwriters Laboratory in Redmond, Washington and later for Intel, Inc. in Hillsboro, until he retired. In retirement, Ken not only enjoyed music, but also painted landscapes with oil and ink.
Jinx Kuehn shared, “Ellie is a very warm person and more than one of us was welcomed by her and encouraged to join PFS. Ellie was so excited when she met Ken!”
Bill Murlin shared, “Ken and Ellie became engaged while attending a Puget Sound Guitar Workshop summer session. My former duo, The Wanderers, played at their May 1, 1993 wedding. I had known Ellie for several years before, as she was very active in PFS, hosting song circles and helping to organize Singtime Frolics. Ken joined and supported Ellie in all those musical endeavors. Their Lewis and Clark College-area home was the site of many house concerts and song circles. For a number of years, they also hosted the song circle group headed by Carol Hamilton, with their Christmas gathering being a special event. While Ken was enthusiastically involved in the folk music scene, he was somewhat bashful as a guitar player and song singer. Ken found a niche in building instruments, including an autoharp for Ellie; a guitar, a banjo, and a cross between a bass guitar and a cello.”