Fred C. Rice III was born in San Antonio, Texas, on Nov. 2, 1954, to parents, Fred C. Rice Jr and Mary Lou Davis Rice, who both preceded him in death. He entered Heaven’s Gates on Feb. 12, 2026, at the age of 71. Sons, Clifford Rice and wife Teresa, and Brady Rice; beloved brothers, Richard Rice and Charles Rice; beloved grandchildren, Anthony Haynes, Cameron “Chance” Haynes, and Kailey Hernandez and husband Ulises; great-grandson, Malachi Hernandez.
During his childhood years Fred learned the value of mechanical work imparted to him by working with his father, and he developed a love of working and fixing things with his own hands. Fred developed a love of airplanes through his dad’s work as an aircraft mechanic. From childhood he forged friendships with Johnny, Danny, Kerry, and Mike that lasted through the length of his life. He had several adventures with his friends.
As he grew into his teenage years, he took up building trades and learned skill of building houses. As he neared adulthood, he determined he wanted to work with aircraft and start his own path to be an aircraft mechanic. He started at Falcon Airway, later becoming Texas International, which would later become Continental Airlines, which would also merge with United Airlines, giving 43 years before retiring.
On Jan. 8, 1983 Fred married Karen Russell and they had two sons: Clifford Rice, 1986, and Brady Rice, 1988. Fred was a devoted and caring father who imparted to his sons the lessons he learned from his father, and as they grew, he would become the Scoutmaster of Troop 1013 and become a guide for many boys in addition to his own sons shaping many boys into men with his action and quiet words of wisdom, he lived his life with. Many of the boys under his leadership would go on to become Eagle Scouts.
As his father grew unable to care for himself, he took his father and cared for him until his father passed at the age of 99 in 2025, and he supported his brothers as only an older brother can do. In his retirement, Fred sought to finish flight school to earned his private pilot’s license, but he discovered he had medical conditions that prevented him from continuing. Still wanting to fly, he turned to Ultralights, which needed no license, and he wanted to design and built his own Ultralight. He begun drawing the initial design of his own plane as his last project.
Visitation will be held Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in the Pace-Stancil Funeral Home Chapel from 1-2 p.m. Funeral Service will begin at 2 p.m. with Pastor Jonathan Fitzgerald officiating. Burial will follow in the Pace-Stancil Memorial Rest Gardens Cemetery. Pallbearers for the service will be, Richard Rice, Charles Rice, Clifford Rice, Brady Rice, Anthony Haynes, and Ulises Hernandez.