Darrel Ray Rice

Darrel Ray Rice, 60, of Palestine, IL, died at 2:52 p.m. on Thursday, August 24, 2017 at Carle Hospital in Urbana, IL following a hard-fought battle with cancer. He was born January 28, 1957 in Oblong, IL the son of Jackie Earl Rice & Vivian Mae (Turnipseed) Rice, both of whom preceded him in death. He was also preceded in death by his brothers, Steve Rice and Jimmy Rice; and by his sister, Patricia Rennier. He is survived by his daughters & their spouses, Debbie & Amy Hess (Robinson, IL), Ragon & Kenny Hilderbrand (Robinson, IL), and Amanda & Brian Cox (West York, IL); by his son, Derek Rice (Robinson, IL); by his grandchildren, Kayla Hilderbrand, Ryan Hilderbrand, Kendalyn Hilderbrand and Riley Cox; by his brothers, Bob Rice (Robinson, IL), Roy Rice (Robinson, IL), and Jerry Rice (Robinson, IL); by his sisters, Sue Ikemire (Robinson, IL) and Beverly Luzadder (Robinson, IL); as well as several nieces, nephews, and extended family members. Darrel attended Robinson High School. He went on to proudly serve his country in the United States Air Force for 6 years, having served from 1974-1980. In this time, he was stationed at Lackland AFB, Fairchild AFB, was sent to Turkey for a year before finishing his military career at McCord AFB. During his tenure in the Air Force, he earned an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice. The day he was discharged, he went to work for the Robinson Police Department, starting a law enforcement career that would span the rest of his life. He became the Champaign County Deputy Sheriff in 1981, where he served until 1984, and was named “Deputy of the Year” in 1983, a title he wore proudly. He returned to Robinson, and served in the police department until 1991, when he went to work for the Robinson Correctional Center, where he would eventually retire on May 31, 2017 after 26 years of service. Away from work, he could almost always be found at Joe’s Pizza and was the epitome of a “regular”. Few things brought him more joy than simply drinking coffee and shooting the breeze with friends, who have listened to the same few corny jokes over and over for the past several years. But more than anything, he loved spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren. His country and his community are grateful for the selfless, dedicated service of Darrel Rice. A time of visitation will be held from 4:00-7:00 p.m. on Monday, August 28th at the Goodwine Funeral Home in Robinson. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 29th at the funeral home, with Rev. Tom Akers officiating the service. A committal service will follow at the Grand Prairie Cemetery, where military services will be conducted by the combined units of the Robinson V.F.W. Post #4549, American Legion Post #69, and Marine Corps League Det #546, and the Flat Rock American Legion Post #132. Memorials may be made to the Riley Hospital for Children, with memorial envelopes available at the funeral home.