Celestial choirs welcomed a new member March 13 when Thelma Waters Wrice (nee Brown) went to her homecoming at the age of 97. Her joyous and rewarding life revolved around music, family and community.
Wrice, the oldest of five children born to Bert H. and Parthenia (Madison) Brown in St. Louis County’s Elmwood Park, was given a piano for her 10th birthday and her destiny was sealed. By the time she was 12, she had been appointed pianist for the First Baptist Church of Elmwood and went on to serve as musician for a variety of congregations including Methodist AME, United Methodist and Immanuel Lutheran.
Wrice’s education started in the St. Louis Public School System, where her love of music continued to grow. She was accompanist for the Sumner High School Orchestra and furthered her studies at Tennessee State University. While residing there with her young husband Rev. James T. Waters, she directed a Fisk University mass chorus of singers chosen from surrounding towns in Tennessee. Back home in St. Louis (now a mother of seven children), Thelma continued her service to various churches teaching piano and voice.
A tragic accident claimed the lives of her husband and five of her young children. Left widowed with three youngsters to raise, Thelma returned to school, graduating from Hubbards Business College. She also obtained her certification to teach music in both public and Sunday schools in Missouri. Determined to further her musical education, she studied advanced piano and harmony under the late Drs. Frank Arnold, J. Roy Terry and Marie Burkes. She went on to serve multiple roles within the church community.
Thelma was as passionate about family as she was about her music. After being widowed for more than 20 years, she joined in holy matrimony with Deacon Fennie Wrice in 1964. Theirs remained a happy union until his death in 1984 and joined their two families in a close and lasting bond.
Wrice is survived by one brother, William Brown; one son, George Waters; seven grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren and a host of extended family and beloved friends.