Robert “Bob” Rice, a Revere native who spent more than three decades as a civil engineer for the State of New York, died on Sunday, October 25, at his home in Utica, New York, with his family at his side. He was 57.
He was born in Revere on May 13, 1969, to Robert and Doreen Rice. He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 1992 and, five years into his career, a master’s degree in regional planning from the State University of New York at Albany in 1998.
He left Massachusetts in 1993 to take his first engineering job and landed in Utica, where he stayed. Over 32 years with the New York State Department of Transportation he ran snow and ice operations on state highways, designed and oversaw major road and bridge work, and helped set up temporary hospitals in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic. The work brought him the New York State Association of Transportation Engineers’ Engineer of the Year award and the Commissioner’s Award from the department.
Outside the office he kept up with Boston sports from afar, went to concerts with the friends he made in Utica, and traveled widely. With his wife, Deborah, whom he married in 2019, he reached four continents, 23 countries and 38 states, and the two settled on Key West as their favorite stop. He served on the committee for Utica’s Boilermaker road race and belonged to the Elks, the Utica Homeownership Center and a road association in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Along with Deborah, he leaves two sons, Casey Rice and Rob Rose, and Rob’s wife, Katie; his brother, Bill Rice, and Bill’s wife, Pam, and their daughters, Sammy and Maddy; his stepmother, Vera Rice; his stepsister, Gianna Hughes; and many aunts, uncles and cousins.
A memorial service is Saturday, November 14, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Paul Buonfiglio and Sons-Bruno Funeral Home, 128 Revere Street, Revere. The family suggests memorial donations to Moffitt Cancer Center in his name.
Compiled from information published by Paul Buonfiglio & Sons-Bruno Funeral Home, 128 Revere Street, Revere. Photograph courtesy of the family via Buonfiglio Funeral Home. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page on Legacy.com. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.