Lawrence Rice

Lawrence Rice was a ten-year-old boy of Santa Monica whose short life was rooted in the everyday joys of childhood by the sea. Known in contemporary accounts as a child who enjoyed playing on Ocean Park Beach, Lawrence’s days would have included the small pleasures familiar to many children who grew up along the Southern California coast: afternoons on the sand, the sound of waves, and time spent in his local neighborhood.

Public records and court documents identify Lawrence as the child who died on November 29, 1956, in Santa Monica. Outside of the formal records that arise from the tragic circumstances of his death, there is very little publicly available personal detail about his family, school, or private life in the sources consulted. That relative scarcity of information does not lessen the reality of Lawrence’s existence — a young life with its own routines, relationships, and possibility.

Because contemporary published obituaries or family-authorized memorials for Lawrence Rice matching the exact date of death could not be located in reliable public archives, the picture we can assemble focuses on the human fact that a child of ten lived in and belonged to a Santa Monica community. When public records are sparse, it is important to honor what is known: Lawrence was a child whose life mattered to those who knew him, and whose presence—like every child’s—carried hopes and simple everyday brightness.

Today, remembering Lawrence means holding with care the image of a young boy who loved the beach and belonged to his community. Though public details about his family and personal interests are limited in the historical record, this remembrance recognizes his life first and foremost, rather than the manner in which it ended.