Marlene "Malka" Rice (Armel) Obituary (1933 - 2022)

Marlene "Malka" Rice (Armel), age 89, of St. Louis Park, passed away September 3, 2022. Preceded in death by son, Steven Gregory (Shlomo) Rice; husband, Herman; parents, Abe and Ann Armel; brother, Norman Armel; and all her beloved animal friends. She is survived by beloved children, Gloria (Tim), Marc, Ed (Tess), and Ron; beloved grandchildren, Mattea, Simon, Lilah, and Elliott; beloved sisters, Ruth Weisberg and Leemona Armel; sister-in-law, DeDe Armel; and brother-in-law, Mort Weisberg; nieces and nephews; and her cat, Maidel. Marlene grew up in North Minneapolis. She met Herman in 1953 at a dance and they were married May 2, 1954. In 1961 a sportswear designing opportunity was offered to Herman, so Malka moved with Herman and her 3 children to Bellevue, WA where they had two more children and lived for 13 years. During that time mom worked at Sears and won a silver award for best catalog salesperson. In 1974 our family moved back to MN. Malka was a member of Beth El Synagogue for over 40 years. She enjoyed her monthly lunches with her birthday club. She volunteered at a battered women’s shelter in Hopkins and volunteered at the Sholom Alliance to sing to seniors with her beautiful voice in Russian, Yiddish, and English. Malka loved swimming at the JCC. She was a creative baker, always experimenting. Malka loved nature and her animal companions. She was an intelligent, beautiful, and spiritual woman who prayed over the shabbat candles every week for her family, including pets, to be safe and happy. Marlene (Malka) will be forever in our hearts. Special thanks to the Roitenberg Assisted Living staff-Malka’s adopted family. Funeral Service 11:30 am, WEDENSDAY, Sept. 7th, at UNITED HEBREW BROTHERHOOD CEMETERY CHAPEL, 2605 W. 70½ Street, Richfield. Shiva Wed. & Thur. 7 pm at Beth El Synagogue, 5225 Barry St. W., St. Louis Park. Both the funeral and Shiva services are available via Zoom; to receive the link please send an email to zoom4@hodroffepstein.com. Memorials to The Steven Gregory Rice fund at the Minneapolis JCC or to the Steven Gregory Rice Fund at Beth El Synagogue.