Emery van Daell Rice

Emery van Daell Rice died October 7, 2026 of Parkinson’s Disease. He was born on February 13, 1937, in Boston, MA, the son of Thomas Emerson Proctor Rice and Margaret van Daell Rice. Emery grew up in Boston and Meredith, NH, and attended Haverford College (class of 1959). He earned his master’s degree in geology at Bryn Mawr in 1960 before attending law school at the University of Minnesota (class of 1965).

Just after his graduation from Haverford, Emery married Ellen Thorndike, and early in their marriage they had two children. After their marriage ended in 1976, he met the love of his life, the accomplished organist Joyce Painter. Emery and Joyce married on March 12, 1983. They shared a deep love of music and travel, often attending the BSO, operas, and organ concerts, sometimes in Europe.

Emery practiced law for several large companies and then struck out on his own, specializing in tax law and continuing to practice well into his 80s.

He continued an active interest in geology, history, and music, particularly singing. In the 1980s he sang in the Arlington Street Church Choir, Boston, and performed Gilbert & Sullivan operettas and as well as Broadway shows with the church’s Light Opera Group. In the roles of Major-General Stanley (The Pirates of Penzance), Sir Joseph (H.M.S. Pinafore), and Ko-Ko (The Mikado), his patter songs were exceptional. In Newburyport, he was a longtime member of both the Belleville Church Choir and the Newburyport Choral Society.

Emery and Joyce lived in Boston, Brookline, Newburyport (24 years), Merrimac, and Groveland, MA. Following years of enjoying Lake Winnipesaukee, they began annual trips to Ocracoke Island, Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Emery is survived by his brother, Seth, his children, Margaret (Margo) and Jonathan (Jon), nieces Priscilla, Kathy and Jane, and three grandchildren. He was predeceased, by his nephew Dennis and his brothers, Thomas Emerson Proctor Rice Jr. and Lyman Rice.

A memorial service will be held Tuesday, November 3, at 11:00 a.m.; Prelude at 10:50 a.m. in the chapel of Belleville Congregational Church, 300 High Street, Newburyport, MA. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Emery’s memory be made to the Belleville Congregational Church, with a memo notation “Meetinghouse Restoration Fund, in memory of Emery Rice,” 300 High Street, Newburyport, MA 01950; or to the charity of one’s choice.