Lella Katherine Rice Pfeiffer, 98, of Columbia, passed away Saturday, September 30, 2017. Born July 23, 1919 in Ila, Georgia, she was the daughter of the late Robert Talmadge Rice and Suzanna Royall Rice.
Lella graduated from Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida with a B.S. degree in Natural Science. After teaching for several years, she joined the Red Cross during World War II as a hospital recreation worker. While stationed in Key West, Florida, she met Naval Chaplain Charles G. Pfeiffer, whom she married on August 22, 1947.
The Pfeiffers lived in Gordon, Nebraska and Nashville, Tennessee, where Lella attended graduate school at Scarritt and Peabody Colleges, and obtained her M.A. degree in Christian Education.
The Pfeiffers moved to Columbia when Charles accepted the position of Chairman of the Religion Department at Columbia College, where Lella also taught part-time. She joined Washington Street United Methodist Church on December 4, 1955, where she remained active throughout her life.
In addition to her husband, Lella was predeceased by her brother, Robert Royall Rice, and her sister, Suzanna Rice Vanderslice. She is survived by her daughter, Rozanna Marie Pfeiffer, and several nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held 4 o'clock, Sunday, October 15th, at Washington Street United Methodist Church, 1401 Washington Street, Columbia, with The Rev. Patricia J. Parrish and The Rev. Alston F. Lippert officiating. A private inurnment will follow. The family will receive friends prior to the service beginning at 3 o'clock in the Wesley Room at the church.