The State Senate yesterday approved Senator Joe Pittman’s bill designating a bridge carrying northbound Route 119 over Route 286 in White Township as the “Specialist Five Timothy Rice Memorial Bridge.”
Pittman introduced the bill at the request of the Clymer American Legion Post 222, acting on behalf of Barbara Rice, Tim’s wife of more than 50 years before he passed away on November 24th of last year.
Rice, who left Marion Center High School several months before graduating to enlist in the Army, worked as a heavy equipment operator with the 20th Engineer Brigade in Vietnam. During two tours of duty, he earned a Bronze Star and was awarded two Purple Hearts, along with other notable military citations. He would later receive his high school diploma in a special ceremony at Marion Center High School.
After his service, Rice returned home and continued working as a heavy equipment operator, and he and Barbara owned and operated Rice’s Café and Store in Purchase Line for more than 25 years. In supporting passage of the bill, Pittman said Rice was a hero, who answered the call of duty even before his high school graduation and served his nation with distinction.
The bill now moves on to the House of Representatives.
