Lydia Dusek Rice

Lydia Dusek Rice

Funeral services for Cortez, Colo. resident Lydia Dusek Rice will be held at 11 a. m. on Tuesday, June 12, at the Cortez First United Methodist Church. Interment will follow at Cortez Cemetery. The Revs. Shelby Bailey, Tom Towns and Suzanne Listeman will be officiating.

Lydia was born on Aug. 4, 1921, in Hingham, Mont., to Fred and Pauline (Rypol) Dusek. She passed away on Friday, June 8, 2012, at her home, at the age of 90.

Lydia married Kenneth Merl Rice on July 14, 1944, in Havre, Mont. She worked for 25 years doing childcare in her own home. She was an avid gardener and loved to cook and bake Czech food. Lydia enjoyed collecting bells, she had more than 400 from all over the world. She loved spending time with her family and was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star.

Surviving Lydia are her husband, Kenneth Rice of Cortez; her children, Carolyn Young and husband, Greg of Centennial, Colo., Lyle Rice of Cahone, Linda Wagner and husband, Don of Whitehall, Mont., and Ed Rice and wife, Robin, of Dove Creek; 11 grandchildren; 20½ great-grandchildren; her sisters, Mary Pleskac and Rosie Brandt, both of Havre; and numerous nieces and nephews. Lydia was preceded in death by her parents, Fred and Pauline Dusek; and her siblings, Jerry Dusek, Fred Dusek, Betty Clond and Julia Pleskac.

Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Montezuma, P.O. Drawer 740, Cortez, or to the First United Methodist Church, 515 N. Park St., Cortez, CO 81321.

Services are under the direction of Ertel Funeral Home. For further information or to send condolences, log on to http://www.ertelfuneralhome.com and click on the obituary section.