DONALD LLOYD RICE
11/22/1939 – 11/04/2023
Donald Lloyd Rice has always lived life on his own terms and transitioning from this earth was no different as all his friends and family can attest to!
Born on November 22, 1939, first name Donald was soon dropped and he went by Lloyd. He was raised on the family farm north of Blue Mound, Illinois under the parental guidance of Wayne Curtis Rice and Lois Ada Zimmerman Rice. Lloyd attended local schools followed by two years at Millikin University in Decatur.
He then moved to Pasadena, California Cal Tech campus to begin a life enriched with academic learning, foreign languages and the life long skills used for computer programming. During this time, with two friends he traveled to Europe to practice Spanish, German and Swedish as they worked odd jobs from country to country. In 1964, while in Sweden, his family contacted him of the arrival of a draft notice requiring him to return and enlist in the U.S. Army. He was stationed at Fort Hood in Texas and assigned the duty of driving Patton M60 Tanks.
In 1966 he was honorably discharged and returned to University but now at UCLA, Los Angeles, where he focused on Linguistic Articulation and Computer Programming. One project he was particularly proud of was his software contribution used on the Mariner 67 Mission to Venus while he was working in conjunction with the Jet Propulsion Lab.
Later, while working at UCLA’s Phonetics Lab, a Hollywood Production Company approached the department and asked for an expert to analyze the ”authentic” recorded sounds of a Big Foot creature in the wild captured by some local hunters. Lloyd was chosen as the person to go on camera and use the department’s highly technical equipment to verify possible authenticity of physical sounds coming from such a creature. The DVD documentary was called ‘Mysterious Monsters’ and was hosted by Peter Graves. Lloyd’s on-screen character was given the title and name: Dr. Robert Sheldon and of course the ‘expert analysis’ was filled with technical jargon with no scientific substance but it satisfied and supported the theory of existence of ‘this’ Big Foot!
Lloyd graduated with a B.A. Degree in Linguistics in 1969 and shortly after became an active member of the Acoustical Society of America. With a school friend, he started a small company called Computalker Consultants which manufactured a speech synthesizer board for the personal computer market. The personal computer changed drastically during these days and outpaced Computalker’s board so the company dissolved.
In 1988, Lloyd then started writing signal processing software for a speech recognizing system designed by Speech Systems Inc.. The company had its name changed to Syvox and was purchased by a consortium located in Boulder, Co and Lloyd was given the opportunity to move with the company and work for several years until he retired in 1999.
This was a good time for Lloyd to become more involved with the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) where he reviewed patents each month and wrote reviews for the Journal of Acoustical Society of America. With his advanced skills in computer programming, Lloyd developed a major software package using neural network skills that enabled his computer to search for U.S. Patents and process the reviews more efficiently and faster. He later served as co-editor, then editor of the Journal of Acoustical Society for many years.
Lloyd’s passion for computers and time spent on them filled his days. When not working long hours for ASA monthly reviews, he would use his ingrained traditional programming skills to make spreadsheets and logistic tables for everything that could be charted including all household systems, personal data and his many topics of interest. He would then convert all these files to PostScript using command line prompts to talk to his office-sized Toshiba Printer. The now paper files were meticulously arranged into manila folders and placed in well-organized tall metal file cabinet drawers.
He mastered and wrote code in all the major languages put favored PERL and refused to upgrade off of Windows 7. He owned and used only traditional computers with towers, monitors and keyboards and would never even think about bringing a laptop contraption into his home.
One of his many computers was dedicated to monitor his whole house generator, as he never wanted a power outage to deny him access to his computers and he kept copious notes on the generator’s weekly Sunday morning automatic testing time. When analyzing the data, Lloyd identified a drifting geometric curve showing a slow-down of 20 seconds which both delighted and baffled him!
His back yard solar power bank also had a dedicated computer to register extensive data on electrical output and capacity, all of course related to sunny or cloudy days and the time of year.
Using his neighbors’ varied egg production, he photographed and diagrammed the curvature of individual shells to develop a formula of predictability for commercial identification in making egg storage units. He was never sure if his efforts where successful but he spent months dedicated to his oval subjects before he ate them.
Lloyd loved his electronics and even built an electrical-powered sensing device installed on his outdoor mail box to signal when new mail had arrived. He didn’t want to waste time walking out to the street since his postal delivery was so erratic.
Lloyd did take a little time away from his computers to attend the monthly meeting of the neighborhood Book Club with Dick and Val, Rachel, Doug and Tommy, and Robyn. His favorite topic was books on the brain but he cooperated with discussions on religious crusades, historical biographies and American Explorers and other Book Club topics. He also made a strong friendship with Dick and Val and their wonderful family who invited Lloyd for big family meals every Thanksgiving and Christmas.
He always enjoyed time on the phone with his longtime friend, Rick who also shared Lloyd’s love of linguistics, foreign language and travel.
He frequently used the special backyard gate installed for him to visit his old neighbors, Gary, Donna and Shannon. He would sometimes pop in their back door early and wait for them to come in the kitchen for their morning coffee, sometimes to the surprise of lovely Donna in her bathrobe!
Three times a week he would walk across the street at exactly 9:00 AM to have a timed mental competition with Mike and Lisette. The focus was completing the Boulder Camera daily puzzles: KEN-KEN, Sudoku and Crypto-quote. Once done with that activity, lively discussions would ensue about Artificial Intelligence, Alien Life Forms, the Brain, Intergalactic travel, Black Holes, Politics, Quantum Physics, Vole Holes in his back yard, The Knights Templar and of course the ongoing search for treasure on Oak Island…….
Other than his many friends, Lloyd leaves behind his midwestern family which includes his beloved sister, Delores, and six nieces: Michelle, Monica, Marla, Linda, Lisa and Lori.
Truly we have never met such a human being so comfortable in their own skin, meaning….Lloyd was Lloyd….and he followed his own ‘PROGRAM’ for living his life.
He truly was a very unique man who always did exactly what he wanted and when he could no longer enjoy his passions it was time to say…”SEE YA”!
Lloyd insisted on absolutely no funeral or memorial service. We honor that request. Think of him kindly and say your own goodbyes in your own way.
With sadness and empathy, we will miss him.
Michael and Lisette Walker
Lloyd was a fascinating guy and i only knew a small amount of what is described in his bio here. I’ve lived a block over from Lloyd for the past 8 years or so and always enjoyed running into him. We had a number of conversations–i have no idea how many–nothing profound, just neighborhood stuff and joking around a little. He was a delight, and i’m sorry he had to go. Best to him in his continuing journey.
Michael and Lisette…this is such a beautiful tribute to my Uncle! I always wished he lived closer and we could have seen him more often. I am so grateful he had so many friends that loved him and shared their time and space with him, thank you! Godspeed Lloyd, fly high and free! I will miss you.
I am very grateful my Uncle Lloyd had many friends, and such great support within his Colorado family. We didn’t see him often, sadly. I will always appreciate his brilliant mind, and his amazing meticulous attention to detail. When we were young he gave us Computalker tshirts… years before any of us had home computers. The back wording “What would your computer say if it could talk?” I wish I still had that shirt! Run free, and fly high Uncle Lloyd! ❤️
Lisa
The neighborhood is just not the same with Lloyd cruising by. I didn’t speak to him every time I saw him, but every time I did I got got a glimpse of the wealth of information he had to share and the fascinating guy he was.
He was such a friendly man! I passed him on several occasions while walking my dogs ….they recognized him coming as he always had treats for them! The neighborhood will miss him.
Lloyd was a beloved fixture in our neighborhood, and will be missed. In the 30+ years we’ve lived here, Lloyd has always had a presence—in charge of our neighborhood email communications; joining in at neighborhood get-togethers; and especially when he was taking his regular walks. He used to walk to the east end of our street every morning. He told me he timed it so that he’d get to the end of the street just as the sun was coming up. Thank you, Michael and Lizette, for being such caring friends to him.
Well Lloyd was a very special guy! My husband Gary and I moved next to him on June 4, 2003 and became close friends and him and Gary would hang out in the shop when Lloyd was not glued to his beloved computer! He was an exceptional smart fellow with ideas and info well above my level. After Gary passed away Lloyd would come over in the mornings to sit with me while I had my coffee and breakfast. Sometimes he would be sitting and the table waiting for me to appear! Once we looked at a picture in the newspaper about the Champaign glasses that would be placed very high at the Brown Palace Hotel downtown on a table where someone would have to climb a ladder to get to the top and pour champaign into the first glass and flow down to the bottom glasses. It fascinated him and said he was going to go home and figure out how many glasses where used and how far apart they were spaced. The next morning he was back in my kitchen with two scenarios as to how this worked! He loved figuring out these little puzzles that we would come up with. When I did my scroll woodworking and could not figure out s certain angle degree, he would come over and figure it out for me. When I would bake brownies, cookies or cake, I`d call him up on the phone and say come to the fence and he would be right there Lickysplit to get a plate full of goodies. Thanks to Mike and Lisette for all you`ve done; you have true friends.
This was the most perfect tribute to our unique and very kind friend. Thank you!
I loved spending holidays with him, and even had him to my house for Christmas dinner the year after my mother died.
Our Chrismas meal together that year will go down as a core memory for me. It was my first time ever hosting a holiday meal! Lloyd seemed to genuinely love my cooking, and I always felt a connection with him.
I will miss him giving my kids math worksheets. ❤️
Thank you, Lloyd, for always being YOU. We could all learn a lot from you.
Lloyd was such an interesting person—one always had the impression that he was observing much more than he ever let on, and as the comments here attest, he was a deep thinker whose interest was caught by a wide variety of subjects. Over the years I had the pleasure of his company through many evenings with the neighborhood book group, sometimes argued with him about the reading material, and always found him to be a fair-minded thinker. He was ever hopeful that as a group we would consent to read long treatises about the structure of the brain—alas! we disappointed him!—but he did manage to teach me something of the topic, and whenever I feel my amygdala overreacting to something, it is reassuring to remember Lloyd’s dispassionate analyses of anxiety.
Those who knew him would probably agree that he was not-a-slave-to-fashion, but he definitely had his own unmistakable style, and I will miss him. As will the neighborhood—it is gratifying to know that a guy who spent so much time in solitary intellectual pursuits was also so ready to join in on whatever was going on, that steadfast and loyal friendships were a big part of his life, and that he became a true asset to the community. Much Lisette and Mike for the camaraderie and remarkable support they gave to Lloyd
I knew (and greatly admired) Lloyd when he was the ‘computer guy’ at the UCLA Phonetics Lab. This was when a lab felt it was lucky to have even one computer and time had to be reserved for access to it days ahead. Lloyd wrote a program that allowed an instantaneous spectral analysis of a speech signal to be displayed in a running time window that could be moved back and forth easily. None of the widely-used programs available today do that so well. Thanks for this great appreciation of a special man.
Doggone it, Lloyd, if I’d known you were going to have a non-funeral, I would have gotten in touch a lot sooner!
I met Lloyd when we were both living in Santa Monica, just starting to work with the FORTH programming language. His company, Computalker Consultants, was only a half mile from my apartment where I typed up court transcripts for $1 a page, while learning how to program. Lloyd and I collaborated on a variety of projects, including TMS32010 signal processing chip simulator/assembler package.
Lloyd got me my very first programmer consultant job helping him at Linn Electronics, the maker of the 1st drum machine.
Computers were very DIY back then … Lloyd related toggling the operating system into his computer one byte at a time, using 8 switches on the front of the machine. Now we just push a button, if we even ever turn the computer off. At Computalker, on Lloyd’s birthday, his employees got the machines programmed to sing to him “Happy Birthday Daddy”.
In the summertime Lloyd wore shoes that he had cut the holes out of the toes to make them cooler, definitely a fashion statement. This was before shoes became big bucks, I think Lloyd missed out on that one.
The 1994 Northridge quake epicenter was right beneath where Lloyd was living at the time, so no one faulted him for exiting California for Colorado!
I’m so happy he found a congenial community in Colorado, and really sorry to hear you all don’t have him around anymore. Thanks so much for sharing your memories of Lloyd.