Charles Leslie Rice Jr. ’41

Les Rice died Feb. 11, 1997, in Red Bank, N.J. His last six years were spent in a wheelchair after back surgery, but his optimism never dimmed.

He was our class's Pyne Prize winner. His wife, Pauline Seaberg, died in 1992.

Les came to Princeton from high school in La Grange, Ill. He majored in history, joined Charter, played varsity football, and was active with Orange Key and the Republican Club. He remained a trustee of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society for many decades following graduation. Les joined the Army in 1941 and rose to captain, winning a Bronze Star and Cluster.

Following the war, Dean Mathey '12, Princeton's patron-saint trustee, benefactor, and Wall St. magician, recruited Les as his protege. Having learned much from Mathey at Empire Trust Co., Les set out on his own. He was president and CEO of Gulf States Land & Industries, Inc., working in Texas and living in New Jersey. He retired in 1980 and continued to be active in his Mandan Corp. in Red Bank and in a host of local charities.

Surviving are son Eric S., daughter Melissa R. Fields, and five grandchildren. It has been said of Les that just talking to him made one "feel good."

The Class of 1941