Rice, Barbara A. (Myers), 82, Wesley Chapel, Florida, passed away in the company of her children and grandchildren on June 4, 2023 after a short but fierce battle with cancer. Barbara was born on June 21, 1940 in Rockford, Tennessee to Willie and Trula Myers. She lived in Tampa for most of her life but enjoyed spending summers and holidays entertaining family and friends at the Myers farmhouse in Tennessee. Barbara joins her lifelong love, Ben, who has been patiently waiting for her for the last eight months and her family is comforted by what must have been a beautiful reunion. Barbara will be laid to rest beside her sweet Husband at Central Point Baptist Church on Martin Mill Pike in Rockford, Tennessee on June 17, 2023. A celebration of life will be held in Wesley Chapel on June 21, 2023 and all are welcome to join in food and fellowship at 6:15 p.m. at Wiregrass Church, 28125 County Line Road, Wesley Chapel, Florida, to mark the beauty of a life well-lived by a beloved Wife, Daughter, Mother, Nana, friend and lifelong lover of Jesus.

Barbara graduated high school as Valedictorian; this discipline and commitment to education would be a hallmark for the rest of her life as she moved on to the University of Tennessee and completed her collegiate degrees before embarking on her first career as a teacher. She spent several years raising two children and moving all over the south in support of her husband's career until they landed in Tampa in 1976. Along with her cooking skills, teaching acumen, and later insurance and business skills, Barbara was also quite creative, sewing clothes for her children and later grandchildren, decorating, painting classes, playing the piano, and honing the finest shopping skills in the land. With an unparalleled work ethic and an affinity for math, Barbara taught middle school mathematics while simultaneously helping her husband build an independent insurance agency. She later retired from teaching, swiftly secured her insurance licenses, and together with Ben opened a Neighborhood Allstate Office as a second chapter career. She was a member of the Order of Eastern Star, supported Metropolitan Ministries and a myriad of groups dedicated to preserving the history and infrastructure of Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains National Park where her father was born and raised. Along with Ben, she enjoyed many years of fellowship and worship at Belmont Baptist Church, was a faithful member of First Baptist Church, Temple Terrace and had recently fallen in love with her new church home and her wonderful Sunday School class at Wiregrass Church.

After "retirement," Barbara did not slow down for a moment and instead embarked on a worldwide travel agenda that took her and Ben all across this country and the world enjoying the fruits of their lifelong labors. She modeled an enduring desire for learning and commitment to education along with providing a foundation of adventure and expansion of horizons by embarking on trips and cruises with her husband and two children Michael Scott Rice of Tampa, and Sherri Rice Kirkland of Ocala - at least one of whom enjoyed the learning part. Present for the birth of each of her five grandchildren, Barbara (now Nana) could not wait to introduce a new generation to traveling, reading, the local museums, parks, beaches, and aquariums. Under her direction and organizational skills to rival the

leader of a large army, all of the grandchildren traveled independently with Nana and Pops and regard it as some of the best parts of their formative years. She was a voracious reader, a professional level shopper (this bears mentioning twice), and late in life she became a dog person – adopting her little Lexie who remained faithfully by her side through the moment she slipped away. It should be noted that she loved sports under only three conditions: her son or grandchildren were involved, the Buccaneers were playing, or the UT Volunteers had a game. Nana was loved by grandchildren: Madison Myers Kirkland of Ocala, Rachael Elizabeth Rice of Tampa, Benjamin Scott Rice of Tampa, Jackson Liddell Kirkland of Ocala, and Emerson Jane Kirkland also of Ocala.

Barbara also leaves behind her sister Carolyn Joyce Blake of North Augusta, South Carolina, brother-in-law, Jim Rice of Rockford, Tennessee, sister-in-law Lillian Maggard, of Rockford Tennessee, longtime brother-in-law, Henry Miller of Hampshire, Tennessee, longtime daughter-in-law, Diane Krawczynski of Jacksonville, Florida, and many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins and friends including Eva Simpson and Cindy Burns, who ensured laughter and love were abundant during her last few weeks . She was predeceased by her loving parents, Willie and Trula (Ingle) Myers both of Rockford, her in-laws, William and Lucille Rice, both of Rockford, sister-in-law, Carol (Linda) Bible of Seymour, Tennessee, Brother-in-Law, Coy Maggard of Rockford, Tennessee, and her son-in-law, Douglas Liddell Kirkland of Ocala, Florida. Miller's Funeral Home of Maryville, Tennessee is handling arrangements.  The family will receive friends from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM Saturday, June 17, 2023, at Central Point Baptist Church, Rockford, Tennessee, with service to follow.