Eleanor Major Rice

11//2010 from Nancy Towle's journal of the African trip

After graduating with the Class of ’61 from Kodai, Eleanor left India with her parents and her brother for San Diego, where her family had a year of furlough. Eleanor studied a year in San Diego City College, and then did a year at Kelly School of Business. She lived with her grandmother on Point Loma and helped care for her. Eleanor met her future husband who was a Navy Lt stationed on Point Loma in a scuba diving class. They married and thus began 25 years of moving and living all over the world. They had time in Hawaii, Australia, Japan, up and down the West Coast, and time at the Pentagon in Washington, DC. For many years they came and went from their farm in Western PA below Pittsburg. Eleanor spent many happy summers there growing huge gardens and canning and putting up food with Mother Julia. They have one son Joseph, who is a graduate of Penn State and has given Eleanor and Joe five wonderful grands, aged 10, 8, 6, 5, and 3. After Joe retired from the Navy in 1984, they had three years in England where Joe worked for the Navy in computer programming.  He then retired again. This time they sold the PA farm and moved to TN to raise Suffolk Punch draft horses. Many of our class enjoyed time there for our 30th reunion.  After 8 wonderful, fun years of hard work, they sold the farm and moved to Bloomington, Indiana, to be near their son and his family in Indianapolis. Being in Bloomington for 11 years is longest time they have spent in one place since they got married! They just celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary and love serving the Lord in the local church where Joe is the treasurer and a deacon.  Eleanor mentors young women whose husbands are going into ministry. She also works to encourage young mothers to love their husbands and children, and to be good keepers of their homes with God’s daily strength and help.  She takes care of her 92 year old Mother Julia who lives just across the yard in a small apartment that Julia calls her “bird house.”

Earlier

Between 1949-1961 she was in India as the daughter of missionaries. Eleanor went to a small school in Central India called Sunrise School before she went to Kodai for high school. While in Kodai she lived on the CMA compound with the Shaws for one year and then at Wyadra where her parents were in charge of the boarding for CBFMS and several other missions. Her dad Hammond Major was school Bursar from about 1958-1963.

Eleanor went to college in San Diego taking courses at San Diego City college in business. In 1964 she married Joe Rice, a Navy Lt,. and they moved all over the world with his naval career. She moved some 30 times from 1964 - 1984. They then lived on their farm in PA and three years in England where Joe worked for the US govt. Our 30th HS reunion was held at their farm in Tennessee. They have lived in Bloomington, Indiana for the past four years, home to Indiana University. Their son Joe and his wife Barbara have two children and live in Indianapolis, IN where he is on the staff of a large church called College Park. Eleanor's mother, Julia Majo,r lives in a small apartment beside their house in Indiana.

One funny story from chapel - Eleanor was to play for the morning service and before hand several of the boys put empty soda cans inside the piano, needless to say you can guess what happened.