Milwaukee native Ernest F. Rice died at his home in Sarasota, Fla., on Nov. 30. The cause of death was Parkinson’s disease.
A 1940 graduate of Shorewood High School, where he played on the football and hockey teams, he graduated from Dartmouth College in 1944.
Rice married his high school sweetheart, Babette (“Babs”) Albenberg. The couple moved to Sarasota permanently in 1982.
A captain in the United States Army, Rice served in the Philippines in World War II and in Alaska during the Korean War.
In 1947 he joined Loewi & Co., a small Milwaukee retail brokerage firm. Over the next 35 years Rice helped the firm become a major regional broker/dealer, opening approximately 50 offices throughout the Midwest. Rice rose to the positions of executive vice president of sales, and vice chairman of the board of directors.
He was appointed to numerous regulatory positions throughout his career. Included was chairman of the board of governors of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), the largest self-regulatory organization of the securities industry, responsible for the operation of the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Rice was also active in civic and charitable organizations in both Milwaukee and Sarasota. He served on the board of directors of the Van Wezel Foundation, the Florida West Coast Symphony and the Century Club of Sarasota Memorial Hospital.
Preceded in death by his wife in June 2005, Rice is survived by daughter Kathy (Richard) Stern of Sarasota; son John (Terri) Rice of Wilmette, Ill.; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
A memorial service was held on Dec. 3 at Plymouth Harbor in Sarasota. The family appreciates memorial contributions to the Van Wezel Foundation, P.O. Box 3434, Sarasota, FL 34230, or to the charity of the donor’s choice.
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