A cat has nine lives and so does Mrs. Peggy Rice.

Having previously been named First Class employee numerous times, Mrs. Rice worked in the front office for over 18 years and never failed to bring smiles to those around her. Rice has recently been titled the Honorary Grandmother of the Little Lancers’ Preschool.

When she retired in 2015, she was escorted to her car by the former principal, Mr. David Kehne, and was surrounded by the marching band. At least once a year, Rice has returned as a long-term substitute secretary.

Rice has recently been titled the Honorary Grandmother of the Little Lancers’ Preschool. Being the honorary grandmother is much more fun than managing keys and parking passes.

Ms. Kate Lane, preschool coordinator, said, “It’s just a cute title because Mrs. Rice worked here and comes back as a substitute secretary, plus three of her grandchildren have come through the Little Lancer’s program.”

Lane described her gratitude for Rice. “She has come and helped out when she’s at school. When she worked here full time, she always made sure that the parents were greeted with a smile, and she always looked forward to seeing everyone. Mrs. Rice would constantly relay the messages personally if the parents were picking up their kids early or if we needed to call the parent to have the kid picked up early like if they were sick.”

“She’s the only grandma we know!” exclaimed Lane.

Her third grandchild, Kate, is a Little Lancer in Spring 2019.

When asked about her grandmother, Kate, the 4 year-old,  said, “I love my grandma because whenever she’s sick I always bring her flowers. She always makes me cupcakes, and my grandma just makes pancakes for herself and for me.¨

Kate will graduate from the Little Lancers program in May and attend kindergarten in the fall.

“I think it’s super cool that my grandma works here! She always, always, always, comes to visit my class. I think it’s cool that she’s the honorary grandma cause she comes to play with us sometimes,” said Kate.

Rice loves the program. She said, “Little Lancers prepares them to be independent away from their parents, gets them ready to learn how to share, prepares them how to be good students, and, most importantly, shows them how to respect others. Ms. Lane puts her heart and soul in helping in their process of getting them ready for kindergarten.”  

“My favorite time with the kids is watching them play and being a part of their life growing up and watching them progress from a child to an adult in different school activities and in church programs. Being ‘Nana’ to them has given me so much joy and pleasure seeing all their beautiful accomplishments in life,” added Rice.

It is obvious to all those surrounding her that Mrs. Peggy Rice is a role model and has influenced generations of both Little and big Lancers.