Eric . Rice

MIDDLETON- Dr. Eric Rice, beloved husband, father, son, brother, badger football player, rocket scientist and entrepreneur of Middleton, Wis., passed away comfortably in his sleep at home on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018, after a lengthy battle with his health. He was 74. Eric was born in Fremont, Ohio on June 2, 1944 and also lived in Hamilton, N.Y. and Milwaukee, Wis. during his childhood. After graduating from Granville High School in the Milwaukee area (1962), he attended college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he played on the 1963-1966 Badger football teams and earned a B.S. Degree in Chemistry (1967). He went on to The Ohio State University where he met his wife, Linda Howe, obtained a Ph.D. in Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering (1972), and served as a graduate assistant coach on Woody Hayes’ Buckeye football coaching staff. Eric and Linda settled the family in Columbus, Ohio (Upper Arlington) from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s before relocating to Middleton, Wis. in 1984. During the 1970s and the early 1980s, Eric worked at Battelle in Columbus, Ohio as a researcher and manager in the Space Systems and Applications sections. From 1984 to 1988, Eric was the Director of the Astronautics Technology Center in Madison, Wis. In 1988, he founded Orbital Technologies Corporation (ORBITEC) with his long-time colleagues and business partners, Ron Teeter and Tom Crabb. He served as President, CEO and Chairman at ORBITEC before he retired in 2014. At ORBITEC, Eric led the development of a growing small aerospace business, which was acquired by Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) in 2014. Many of ORBITEC’s technologies are being integrated into SNC’s Dream Chaser Space Vehicle. Dr. Rice was involved in developing: future space mission concepts; advanced space Lunar and Mars resources processing systems; advanced Lunar Transport and Colonization system concepts, advanced chemical and electrical space propulsion, cryogenic solid hybrid propulsion, low-cost launch vehicle approaches; Mars colonization approaches; microgravity technologies for Space Station; commercial space vehicles, and future manned bases; advanced SRU based-propulsion for future space missions; bi-propellant liquid vortex and vortex-fed hybrid rocket engines; and advanced propellant systems. In 1999, he was made a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Eric is survived by his beloved wife of 49 years, Linda Rice; his children, Scott Rice, Matthew Rice (Jennifer Rice) and Kelley Rice (Brian Fons); his grandchildren, Michael Rice and Olivia Rice; his mother, Phyllis Rice and his sister, Roseanne Rice. Eric was preceded in death by his father, Frederick Rice and his daughter, Erin Rice. Eric will be forever remembered by his extended family members and dear friends. Eric was a one of a kind person with boundless energy. He was fiercely loyal to his family and friends. He had a highly diverse group of friends spanning multiple generations and highly divergent social circles. He enjoyed many hobbies, including golfing, fishing, organizing events and reunions and sports fandom (namely the Wisconsin Badgers and Northwestern Wildcat football teams). He also loved spending time with his family at the lake house in northern Wisconsin that he built largely by himself. There will be a Memorial Service for Eric on Monday, Nov. 19, 2018 at 1 p.m. at ASBURY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, Madison, Wis., with Reverend Harold Zimmick presiding. Visitation will be held at GUNDERSON WEST FUNERAL & CREMATION CARE from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018, and at the church on Monday from 12 noon until the start of the service. Burial will be at Forest Hill Cemetery. Memories and condolences can be shared at www.gundersonfh.com. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to SSM Health at Home at www.ssmhealth.com/donate. Gunderson West Funeral & Cremation Care 7435 University Ave. (608) 831-6761