Allan Rice

Allan Rice, lifelong Libby resident, passed away at age 85 in Missoula after a brief illness.

Allan was born at home on Jan. 25, 1938, to David and Ruth Nixon Rice. He was the grandson of Ellsworth and Birdsell Williams Rice.

His maternal grandparents, Oscar and Maria Lee Nixon, came to Libby in the 1920s.

Both families homesteaded along Libby Creek in the area now known as Hammer Cut-off.

He attended Libby public schools and in 1955 he joined his brother, Leonard, in the Navy aboard the U.S.S. Shangri-La in 1955 and served until 1959 and was honorably discharged.

During his time in the Navy, Allan met Sharon "Kayty" Twitchell on leave in southern California. They were married on his 20th birthday in 1958. After the Navy, they made their home in Libby and raised three children, Tina Marie, Rhonda and Darren.

Allan began work with J. Neils Lumber Company and retired with Stimson, having done many jobs, including choker setter, driving logging trucks, long-boom crane operator and Wagner operator. He was proud of his job and always did his best.

Perhaps Allan's greatest love was the many mountains and bodies of water around his beloved home town. He loved to fish, hunt and backpack, hiking into most, if not all, of the local high lakes with his father, son Darren and numerous other family and friends over the earlier years.

Fishing was his last great enjoyment.

After having both knees replaced, he settled down to be a gentleman farmer at his property on Farm to Market Road where he and Kayty lived in the log home they built among the trees. Their home, garden and the numerous wildlife that visited was his sanctuary.

Allan will be remembered for his ready smile that put you at ease and always made you feel welcome. He never met a stranger - always willing to start a conversation no matter where he traveled. 

He was a frequent visitor to Libby Care Center, checking in on family and friends until their passing. In February of this year, after a year-and-a-half of visiting Kayty nearly daily, his heart to visit the facility was gone with Kayty's passing.

He is, and shall remain, terribly missed. 

He leaves behind daughter Tina Marie Collins (Mark) of Prescott Valley, Arizona and Darren Rice (Monica) of Libby. He had numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren and would have been a great-great-grandfather in early August. He is also survived by sisters Lorraine Sichting, Shirley Snyder and Caroline Hamann of Libby, brother Dan Rice (Sally) of Buckley, Washington and Judy Teufert (Harley) of Newman Lake, Washington.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Kayty, his parents, his brother Leonard and daughter, Rhonda.

Allan would be happy if you would remember him by appreciating God's creation and to remember to give a friendly wave or smile to passersby.

A potluck for friends and family is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, July 22 at the Nazarene Church in Libby.

Besides a dish, bring your stories to share. Allan always had a million of them.