Janice Cornelia Rice

Janice Cornelia Rice, 81, passed away to be with the Heavenly Father on Thursday, September 29, 2022, after a brief illness.  She was lovingly known as “Robin” and “Nana”.

She was born on October 13, 1940 to the late Lavinia Elain Robinson and Guy Authur Robinson in Hampton, VA.  She grew up in the Pheobus community of Hampton.  She attended Robert R. Motion Elementary and Y. H. Thomas in the early 1950’s.  In 9th grade she attended St. Mary Star of The Sea Catholic School; she was the first African American to graduate in 1956.  She graduated from George P. Phenix High School.  After graduation she pursued a career in nursing.

In 1958 she married James (Duck) Ollie Rice of Hampton, VA.  This union was blessed with two daughters.  She relocated to Washington, DC in 1961 to further her nursing career.  She was employed with the DC Government School System as a School Nurse.  She retired in 1989 after 19 years of devoted service.  She did home child care at her residence in Oxon Hill, MD where she cared for several young children.  She truly loved children therefore she was compassionate about looking after each child’ Janice was the first to introduce the W.I.C. program to low income families in the community.  

Some of Janice’s passions were; she was a collector of dolls and stuffed animals; she loved to dress up and dance.  She was a skillful makeup artist,  adored coloring, writing and a movie lover.  She was a participant in the Ms. Senior DC Pageant in 2014 and 2015. She was also a member of the DC Cameo Club.  She was a devoted daughter, sister, aunt, mother, nana and godmother.  She enjoyed spending time with her family, traveling, bowling and shopping.  But most of all she LOVED the sound of the Slot Machines.

Aside from her parents she was preceded in death by her sister, Beatrice (Beebe) Evelyn Randolph and son-in-law, Richard L. Kinard.

She leaves to cherish her most precious memory, two daughters, Cornelia Jeannine Rice and Monique Yvette Rice-Kinard both of Hampton, VA; three grandchildren, Ashleigh D. Rice-Robinson (Woodrow), DeVen Rice and Amber D. Rice, all of Hampton, VA; five great grandchildren, Autumn (Little Princess), Micah and Hassan (Twins), Sakai (Chocolate Drop) and Aspen; one brother, Gene Robinson; one sister, Lisa Robinson-Gorham (Orlando) and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

She was our Queen! Gone, but never forgotten.

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