September 22, 1931 – August 8, 2026

Born September 22, 1931 in Mobridge, South Dakota during the depths of the Great Depression, Richard Bruce Rice (known then as Dicky) rode the rails west with his family in search of work and opportunity. After stops in Idaho and Washington, they heard tale of a town where there was no Depression: Grass Valley. Dicky would often tell of the dream-like clouds that filled the sky on his journey from Washington to California. The War effort later took his family to Dunsmuir, Richmond and Tracy before they resettled in Grass Valley around 1945.

Dicky, known later as Dick, Dad, and, for the last 40- plus years, Poppy, graduated from Grass Valley High School in 1949 where he met the great love and force of his life, Arlene Southern. Together, Dick and Arlene shared 73 full years and chased their dreams. Some of those dreams, Poppy would admit, turned out better than others. He loved living and telling stories about life.

Poppy enlisted in the US Navy at the start of the Korean War. The Navy taught him a lot of things, including that, despite his high school marks, he had a talent for electronics. Poppy took that talent and his GI Bill to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he earned a degree in electrical engineering. Being an electrical engineer was one of the great joys of Poppy’s life. He started his career at General Electric and eventually founded a successful semiconductor business in the Bay Area during the 1970’s. He enjoyed many good years in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where he built a house with his own hands (and some help), taught his children to ride horses, and lived his life a little too close to the edge from time to time. In the 1980’s, he and Arlene headed home to Nevada County to try their hands at cattle ranching. (Poppy had the missing fingertips to show for it.) They later opened Cousin Jack Pasties in Penn Valley, Nevada City and Grass Valley, which they ran until they finally accepted retirement in 2018.

Poppy died at home on the morning of August 8, 2026, having done things he wanted to do. He traveled the world, spent his summers at his beloved Jackson Meadows, read good books, ate good food, and lived and laughed (especially at himself) for nearly 95 years surrounded by people and dogs he loved and who loved him back.

He is survived by Arlene and their family, including their children (Billye, Roxanne and Corey), Poppy’s sister Janice, as well as four grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and many loving nieces, nephews and in-laws. They will tell his stories forever.