Carol B. Rice, retired deputy commissioner for Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, has died at 80
"She leaves behind a beautiful and rare legacy represented by her family and friends who will celebrate all that she was in service and sisterhood," a friend said.
Carol B. Rice, 80, of Warrington Township, formerly of Philadelphia, retired deputy commissioner for Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, former member of the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Commission, member of the Warrington Township Park and Recreation Board, and longtime community advocate, died Saturday, June 17, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at VITAS hospice at Nazareth Hospital.
The daughter of Charles Baker, a prominent West Philadelphia community activist for whom the Charles Baker Playground on Lansdowne Avenue is named, Mrs. Rice spent her entire career helping families rise from poverty, young people find rewarding jobs, and two parks and recreation departments play vital roles in the lives of residents.
She worked part time as a summer playground leader for the Philadelphia recreation department as an undergraduate at Pennsylvania State University, joined the department full time in 1965, and was appointed deputy commissioner in 1994 by Mayor Ed Rendell. She served under Commissioner Michael DiBerardinis and oversaw hundreds of recreation centers and playgrounds, and directed other activities until she retired in 1999.
She volunteered on the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Commission after it was formed in 2009 by Mayor Michael Nutter. Later this year, city officials are expected to rename the Lansdowne Avenue playground the Charles Baker and Carol Baker Rice Playground. “That,” said her husband, John Rice III, “will be a tremendous tribute to her.”
One of Mrs. Rice’s most productive initiatives, she said in an online interview for a Parks and Recreation Commission newsletter, was scheduling bimonthly meetings with residents who wanted to get involved with the park system. “We are recognized, and people want to give their opinion to us,” she said. “They know they have someone to listen to regarding their concerns.”
Listening, and then acting, made Mrs. Rice popular with her colleagues as well as the community. “You showed much professionalism, dedication, friendship, compassion, and love to all of us in the recreation department,” a former colleague said in an online tribute. Mrs. Rice told the Daily News in 1996: “If you let people working under you know your expectations, they will usually try to meet them.”
As administrator for Philadelphia’s Neighborhood Youth Corps, Summer Food Program, Summer Play Streets Program, and other projects from 1965 to 1994, Mrs. Rice helped countless disadvantaged young people find jobs, stay healthy, and live safe and productive lives. A 1967 report by the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare said that her Neighborhood Youth Corps secured 37 scholarships for students between 1965 and 1967.
Her rec center programs included sessions on art, poetry, dance, boxing, and ice hockey, and at one point in the 1990s featured the country’s largest indoor soccer program with 9,000 players. Later, after she retired and moved to Warrington Township in 2000, Mrs. Rice served as chairman and vice chairman of the Warrington Township Park and Recreation Board.
“She was never a person to sit still,” said longtime friend Evelyn Sample-Oates.
Carol Ann Baker was born April 11, 1943, in Philadelphia. She grew up in West Philadelphia and graduated from Philadelphia High School for Girls in 1961.
She went to Morgan State University in Baltimore for a year, transferred to Penn State to be closer to her family after her father died, and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1965. She joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority in 1964 and celebrated 50 years of membership in 2014.
She met her husband in 1969. They married in 1971, had son John IV, and lived in Mount Airy, Germantown, and Warrington Township.
Mrs. Rice was past president of the 1926 Foundation, a charitable organization founded by the Omega Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha. She was on boards at the Southwest Belmont Community Association, After School Activities Partnership, and Caring People Alliance of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
She was a big sports fan and attended Eagles and 76ers games with her husband. She vacationed often in Cape Cod, liked seafood and card games, and read the newspaper cover to cover nearly every day.
She attended Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church as a child and later was active at Salem Baptist Church of Abington, and Bethlehem Baptist Church in Spring House.
She was a Democratic committeeperson in Warrington Township and met monthly with friends to chat about life. “She was a wonderful person who I knew to be caring and concerned about helping people,” her husband said. “She grew up understanding what it meant to be involved.”
In addition to her husband and son, Mrs. Rice is survived by other relatives.
Services were held July 3.
Donations in her name may be made to the 1926 Foundation, P.O. Box 564, Bala Cynwyd, Pa. 19005; After School Activities Partnership, One Penn Center, 1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd, Suite 1855, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103; and Caring People Alliance, 123 S. Broad St., Suite 2220, Philadelphia, Pa. 19109.