10/20/2025
Edward Henry Rice, age 61, died October 17, 2025, at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, TN, with his granddaughter, Brooke, and wife at his bedside. Other family members were in the hospital family waiting area, but Eddie was in a hurry to get the hell out of there. Just a day earlier, he was trying to coerce his daughters by swearing at them to take his “ass home.” Colon cancer may have had its way with him, but his humor and irreverence remained until the very end by sending inappropriate memes, jokes, and photos – including images of his stoma that he called his “belly butt” – to family and friends. If you were feeling down, Eddie always had an offensive or tasteless joke to cheer you up. His laugh was as infectious as COVID-19, and he could often be seen wearing his “GMH” baseball cap. Most people knew him as Edward or Ed, but his family called him Eddie, Dad, or Papa, and some called him Fredward just for fun. Rumor has it that God broke the mold when he came into the world at Fort Benning, Georgia, October 3, 1964. He was second in the birth order of the six feral children of the late Edward and Rita Rice and started causing trouble right from the start. No matter what havoc the children caused, it was always Eddie’s fault, except for the time they all had an epic mud fight in the rain across the driveway with the neighbor kids on Holland Street at Fort Campbell. Eddie was a graduate of Kaiserslautern High School and Hopkinsville Community College where he studied computerized manufacturing and machining. He enlisted in the Army after high school and served in Germany. He worked for various companies after leaving the Army, finally settling at Martinrea Hopkinsville, where he worked for 17 years as a tool and die machinist.
He is survived by his wife, Shirley, whom he met while helping her father hang a ceiling fan. As she was walking by them, she said, “Excuse me,” to which Eddie replied, “Why did you fart?” They were married for 34 years. Eddie is also survived by his children and their spouses: Kaitlin and David Smith of Elkton, KY; Deniece and Rick Gillispie of Hopkinsville, KY; Jennifer Hoffman with Brandon Ward of Mount Juliet, TN; and Christopher Sampley of Nashville; grandchildren: Lylah and Lauryn (who is expected February 2026) Smith; Ricky, Brooke and Jaxson Gillispie; and Brayden and Madison Hoffman; his favorite two siblings and their spouses: Maria and Michael McClure, and Robert and Shumin Rice; his best friend for life: Enrique Calistro; numerous nieces and nephews and many friends. Other siblings and their spouses include Jacqueline and Max Meany, Catherina and Constantine Garas, and Thomas Rice.
He will be cremated, and his urn will travel with his daughter, Kaitlin, who was designated by Eddie as the caretaker of the ashes. Friends wanting to share memories and funny stories are invited to join his family for a Celebration of Life, 5:00 PM until 8:00 PM, October 21, 2025, at Sugar Grove Carriage House in Oak Grove, KY. Maddux-Fuqua-Hinton Funeral Home has been entrusted by the family to handle the arrangements.
