Delores Jean Wagy Rice King

1930 ~ 2020

Our beloved mother, Delores Jean Wagy Rice King, passed from this earthly existence on August 24, 2020. She was born May 18, 1930, the youngest of three children, to Harold and Glenna Wagy in Barry, Illinois (a small rural town with a population in 1930 of 1,506). It was there that she attended elementary, junior and senior high school. She graduated from Barry High in 1948 where she had been a cheerleader. Her aspiration and dream while growing up had always been the loftiest which was to hold the most noblecalling of wife and MOTHER. She nailed them both! She was responsible for six children, 15 grandchildren, 24 greatgrandchildren and one great-great grandchild. She was a bastion, a beacon and a bridge. She also laid two husbands to rest.

While growing up, she would spend her summers across the Mississippi River in Hannibal, Missouri with her maternal grandparents. It was during this time that she met her first husband, Stanley “Harold” Rice. He proposed and they were married in June of 1948. Their first child, Steven, was born in May the following year. Then in succession came Bradley in 1952 and Vicki in 1954.

She was a typical mother of the 1950’s and 60’s, staying home and tending to her family. As we would lovingly say…”preaching, teaching, expounding and exhorting.” At the young age of 29, she became a widow when Harold was killed in an auto accident in August of 1959. A year later, with apprehension and fear but also with grit and determination for a better future for her children, she moved her young family (11, 8 and 6 years of age) to Huntington Park, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. She acquired a job as a waitress in a nearby cafe where she worked while her children were in school. It was there that she met our future stepdad, JC Edgar “Jack” King. They married in August of 1961 and moved us to Rossmoor in Orange County, California. Our mom held high standards that our stepdad had to meet, and he did. We called him “Dad” because he earned it. With their marriage we gained a sister in Debbie who was then seven yrs. old. Then in 1962 we were blessed with another sister, Michelle, and then another in 1967 with Kelly. We grew up happy and loved. Mom continued to be a stay-at-home mom. It was this time during her life that she said she cherished the most.

In 1970 Mom, Dad, Vicki, Michelle and Kelly moved to Nampa, Idaho. Mom loved the rural feeling of the town because it reminded her of her youth. There they prospered. In 1980, Mom, Dad and Kelly relocated to South Jordan, Utah, finding a new home next door to the Jordan River Temple. She told us that she loved how the temple lights lit up their yard in the evenings. She felt that she had moved to her Zion. She began to reconnect with friends they had made in Orange County that had also relocated to the Salt Lake City area.

She loved to sew, knit, do needlepoint and crochet, and was a master at it. She made many gifts that she gave to loved ones, which they have cherished and which have become heirlooms. She served in many positions in the Church, loved to serve, and she led a life dedicated to the service of others. After Dad’s retirement they served as missionaries in the California San Bernardino Mission in Mammoth Lakes and made many friends there.

In 2001, our mom was widowed a second time when our dad died of natural causes. Some time after this period, our mom met and became friends with Bruce Beisinger, a gentleman that she met through friends in the Church. They never married, but became companions doing temple work, attending plays and enjoying each other’s company. Bruce passed away in the Spring of 2015, and mom was again left to herself. She continued to be a doting grandmother and often told us how she missed the days when we were all under the same roof and one big family. Although she felt that her job was now done, she still longed for those familial experiences.

She was involved in an unfortunate accident in the Spring of 2014, at the age of nearly 84, when a big gust of wind knocked her over and she hit her head on the driveway and lost consciousness until her neighbor discovered her. As the years passed, she gradually became house-ridden and battled her health from that point on. Her daughter, Vicki, became her caretaker. Mom appreciated the care and attention that she received, and she felt truly blessed. After six years of declining health, she finally was allowed to return “home” at the age of 90. We love her and will miss her dearly.

She was preceded in death by her two husbands, her parents, a brother, a sister and a grandchild, Brandon Bartlett. She is survived by her children: Steven Rice (Patty) of Boise, ID, Bradley Rice (Sally) of Big Bear, CA, Vicki King of So. Jordan, UT, Debbie Beck (Dave) of Nampa, ID, Michelle Bartlett (Mike) of Bluffdale, UT, Kelly Price (Jon) of Sandy, UT, and the aforementioned grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchild.

We are your legacy, Mom. We hope that we have made you proud of us. You have certainly made us proud. We salute you. We bow to you. Job well done! We will see you soon enough and hold each other again.

Funeral services will be held in her honor on Saturday, August 29, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (address: 10124 South 1300 West, South Jordan). Family will receive friends from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. prior to the services. Interment will be in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. We kindly request that you wear a mask and social distance while attending services to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Services may also be viewed by live streaming Zoom, meeting ID 8012878233.

“You may have tangible wealth untold; Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer than I you can never be – I have a mother who read to me.”
-Strickland Gilliland (and the children of Delores King)

“Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in days to come.”
-Proverbs 31:25