December 30, 1944 - March 9, 2023
Mr. Clifford A. Rice Jr. died peacefully surrounded by his wife Carmen Rice, Stepson Adhemar Bonnetti (video call), Stepdaughter Karen Bonnetti-Ramirez, and Son-in-law Jorge Ramirez at St. Joseph's Hospital on March 9, 2023 at 1:32am in Stockton, California at the age of 78.
Cliff was born December 30, 1944 to Aurora A. Marino Rice and Clifford A. Rice, Sr. in Key West, Florida. He moved to Stockton, California at the age of four years old and since then made Stockton his home.
He was blessed with siblings, nephews, nieces, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Cliff graduated from Linclon High school in 1963. He went on to college at the Universaty of Pacific where he earned a degree in Civil Engineering.
He served in the U.S. Navy during Vietnam War and was awarded the National Defense Service Medal.
He started working at Caltrans (California Department of Transportation) in 1984 and retired in December of 2009 after over 25 years of service.
Most of Cliff’s career at Caltrans was in Construction. He was the Construction Senior Engineer in Calaveras County. One of the projects he was most proud of was the Angels Camp Cal-4 Bypass
(https://calacog.org/project/angels-camp-bypass-project/).
Those who were fortunate to know him, found in him great support and a wealth of knowledge. He continued serving the public after his retirement as Dispute Resolution Board (DRB) member until 2021.
He loved Classic American Muscle Cars. He was proud and happy driving around his 1986 Buick and listening to the 50’s rock & roll music.
His hobbies as a child included building model airplanes and ships as well as playing card games. He enjoyed Jigsaw and Crossword puzzles. Cliff began to play golf with his father and grandfather and continued until his health permitted it.
He enjoyed watching westerns, cop shows and classic movies; and was also an avid reader. Some of his favorites were StarWars and StarTrek books and movies.
He was a loyal 49rs fan and looked forward to watching NFL games with his football buddies.
Another passion of his was coin collection. He was an active member of the Delta Coin Club and Stanislas County Coin Club. His contributions were significant as well as instrumental to the success of these clubs.
From all his many hobbies and pastimes, what Cliff enjoyed to most was spending time in the company of his two adorable Shih Tzus who he named Obi (short for Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Chewy (short for Chewbacca).
SERVICES:
The visitation for Clifford will be held on Sunday March 19, 2023 from 9:00am to 4:00pm in the Vineyard Chapel located at 14165 N. Beckman Rd. in Lodi, CA 95240.