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STEPHEN  L.  RICE  JR.
 

Stephen L. Rice Jr., 35, of Sebring, FL died suddenly Wednesday (Jan. 10, 2007) in a Kissimmee, FL hospital.  A native of Fort Lauderdale, FL, he was a lifetime resident of Sebring.  He graduated from Sebring High School and attended the University of Miami and the Miami Dade College, W.L. Philbrick School of Funeral Services in Miami. He had previously been a funeral director with the Dowden Funeral Home in Sebring.  Stephen was a member of the Saint Catherine Catholic Church in Sebring.
 
Surviving are a daughter, Ashley Lindsay Carlton Bateman of Sebring;  his mother, Dorothy M. “Dottie” Rice Barton and husband, Scott of Hayesville;  his father, Stephen L. Rice of Deland, FL;  a sister, Kimberly Ann Dokka and husband, Gerald of Atlanta;  and his grandmother, Virginia Franzino of Lake Worth, FL.
 
Funeral Mass at 12:00 noon Friday (Jan. 19) in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church with Father George Kloster officiating. Interment in the Hayesville First United Methodist Cemetery. Pallbearers: Nick LaForte, Gerald Dokka, Robert T. Siegle, Doug Daley, Jason Pandolph, and Carl Siegle.
 
The family will receive friends from 11:00-11:45 Friday morning at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church prior to the services.
 
Ivie Funeral Home, Hayesville in charge of arrangements.

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