H. Allen Rice, 78, died Saturday, November 14, 2015, following a struggle with multiple health conditions.
He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Claudette; his sons, Chandler and Alexander; his siblings, Darla, Randy, Paula, and Alvin; his grandson, Ethan; and his many friends and colleagues.
Born November 6, 1937, in Hendersonville, North Carolina, Hiram Allen Rice was the oldest brother of five siblings, whose humble beginnings instilled in him the virtues and the power of opportunity, entrepreneurship, and hard work. He often and with great fondness described his childhood experience raising rabbits as his first entrepreneurial endeavor, and he held the lessons learned close to heart throughout his life, blending his natural pioneering spirit with the desire to help others.
As an Airman at Brooks Air Force Base, H. Allen Rice continued this philosophy, working as an athletic director and swim instructor, and building a swim school to help airmen’s children learn a vital life skill. It was here that he gained valuable insight into business growth through word of mouth referrals and duplicable training.
Following his term with the Air Force, H. Allen Rice experienced his first taste of the direct sales industry as a salesman for a cookware company, in which he learned the power of speaking directly to the consumer.
But it was a powerful and fateful encounter that truly ignited his passion and purpose as an entrepreneur. Through happenstance, H. Allen Rice met a young family with a tragic story – they had not only lost their child, but they had no photographs with which to remember him. Their situation provided H. Allen Rice with the idea and the impetus to fulfill an unmet need, and with the help of some fellow sales associates, he founded Treasured Portraits Club (TPC) as a way to bring convenient and affordable photo portraits directly to customers. TPC thrived as a direct sales company that succeeded both as a business and as a means to help others, but eventually, changes in photography technology and the industry in general prompted him to close down the business.
Even though his experience with TPC afforded him financial and personal success, H. Allen Rice’s entrepreneurial spirit remained strong, and he became determined to build a new business in an industry that would enable him to help others. Recognizing the growing need for better quality drinking water, H. Allen Rice, with his brother Alvin, founded what would become Multipure in 1970, on the principles of providing superior quality drinking water for better health, and an exceptional business opportunity for better lives. He envisioned and helped develop Multipure’s revolutionary carbon block filter in 1975, working with his brother from the barest of beginnings to hand craft carbon block filters in the sheds, garages, and ovens of their own homes. Over the course of 45 years, he would proceed to guide the company from their two-person garage operation into a global manufacturer of high-quality drinking water systems and a provider of a path to meaningful entrepreneurship. One of H. Allen Rice’s proudest moments as a businessman was the successful development and manufacture of Multipure’s first stainless steel drinking water system, which he viewed with the affection of a proud father.
H. Allen Rice believed in hard work and dedication to excellence. He believed in the power and decency of helping others. He believed in a product and a business opportunity that are so obvious in their excellence that they sold themselves when given a chance. And he believed that in life, key opportunities – “magic moments” – appear that can shape and define one’s future. H. Allen Rice seized his first magic moment when he founded Treasured Portraits Club. He seized his next, and greatest, magic moment when he created Multipure. Through Multipure, he created products to improve people’s health. He created an opportunity to improve people’s lives. He created a family of Distributors and employees and customers, many thousands strong, across the world, who today are better off because of his presence and his actions and his leadership through the years.
If one were to encapsulate H. Allen Rice in a few words, those words would be Family, Opportunity, and Innovation. These attributes are felt throughout everyone and everything he touched – his products, his business, his employees, and his friends and relatives. H. Allen Rice worked his entire life to improve himself and his family. He found his opportunity, he made an impact for the better, and he ensured that others benefited from his success. This is the legacy of H. Allen Rice, and the family of people that knew him mourns the passing of a great man.
13 Responses to “Obituary: H. Allen Rice”
We are saddened to know that H. Allen Rice has left this world. His presence in our lives was a genuine blessing and we will never forget him. Each day we are grateful for this blessing and celebrate our good fortune to have known him and loved him. H. Allen Rice touched the lives of so many people who came into contact with him over the years. The Multipure family is a living testimony of his magical influence that continues today to help improve the lives of millions of people all over the world.
H. Allen Rice has given us so much, and he only asked us to share our knowledge. We cannot imagine what our lives would be like if we had not been introduced to this brilliant visionary who was so generous and loyal.
We will always remember you H. Allen with much love & gratitude in our hearts. Thank you for all you have done to help so many of us.
Our heartfelt condolences to the Rice family and the extended Multipure worldwide Family as well. H. Allen Rice will be deeply missed.
These very deserving and kind words could not have been said better. Thank you Will and Gemma!
I was so sorry to read of Mr. Rice’s passing. He was such a dear friend to my dad Ron Underwood and was so kind when Ron passed away. I still have some of the pans those two sold door-to-door and items from the Photo business they started. My prayers to the family.
When I think of H.Allen Rice I think of three attributes: Strength, vision, and loyalty. He projected firm and sure leadership and you always knew when he walked into a room. He knew where he wanted to go and was able to “see” into the future and then do what was necessary to build the team to implement that vision. And through it all he was always intensely loyal to the Multipure employees and distributors and to his own family. That’s why so many of us have stayed for more than 25 years. Thank you, HAR, you were a BIG man with a BIG dream. Thanks for letting me into your dream!
You will be missed, but through the great examples you left us, you will continue inspiring more people and viewed as a SHINING STAR.
I am deeply saddened by the passing of H. Allen, a great leader and one of my mentors for many years. He left a legacy of better health for MILLIONS of people, based on his passion for serving others and his unwavering commitment to excellence. He touched my life personally and through Multipure has allowed me to life my life with true passion and amazing freedom stemming from a residual income that has now passed the two million dollar mark. H. Allen taught me preserverence and the importance of always living each day with integrity. H Allen and his brother Alvin have always treated me as a friend and a valuable part of their extensive Multipure family. They have paid commissions to me personally and to many of my friends and family flawlessly for over 30 years. I know of no other company that is as committed to their distributors as Multipure. Much of that commitment and integrity came directly from Mr. H. Allen Rice. I am forever inspied and moved by his visionary leadership and his unshakable passion for helping others and always doing the right thing. Allen, you are loved by countless people and your legacy lives on in the hearts and minds of the people that you touched.
Somehow we never thought this day would come – H. Allen was a vibrant, larger-than-life man who held the vision for Multipure and especially the MP distributor network since the beginning. He never failed to inspire and uplift, and I felt his heart and passion in everything he did. I feel honored and fortunate to have known him.
Thank you, Allen for all you did for us – your MP dream is thriving and continues to improve the lives of millions of people every day. This is your legacy – thank you for letting us share in your dream.
May your memory be eternal.
Heartfelt condolences to the entire Rice family and to the dedicated MP staff and employees. Sending love to you all – Thank you for sharing H. Allen’s story with the world.
I am sorry for your loss. I met H Allen Rice at the last convention, and he seemed very professional and focused. He will be missed I am sure, and I pray for the comfort of all the family and loved ones at this time. God bless you all, Multipure is like one big family, and he was a co founder of it all. I am glad I had the chance to meet him.
I am sorry for our loss. Mr Rice is missed. Reading my email this morning I was shocked by this unexpected news.
My condolences to the family, and to all of we the extended family. God bless him and us.
JAMES HATHAWAY.
Although I met Mr. H, Allen Rice only a few times it was clear to me that he loved all of his distributors and employees who worked daily at keeping his vision alive! He was kind, full of hope, excitement and gratitude for the work being accomplished, I could see it in his eyes… I believe foremost that his excitement emerged from understanding how effective his company had grown, how Multipure changed peoples lives not only health wise but financially too harnessing the spirit of giving.
I am happy I was able to meet H. Allen Rice, a remarkable man indeed who definitely made his Mark in this world by setting the standard for compliance in the provision of clean healthy filtered water for humanity. Water is life so precious. Thank you so much for your determination, your successes and your triumphs! Rest H. Allen Rice you have run the race and won. Peace and blessings are yours.
My father passed on Fathers Day 1985 after a life well lived. My second ‘father’ passed 30 years and 5 months later after providing a path of opportunity, a ‘vehicle’ and a cause to make a difference …:”for people, pets, and the planet” plus prophet’s path upon which I will continue to Travel. Thank You Hiram Allen Rice and your INSPIRATIONAL Supportive Extended Family – blood business and brotherhood.
Sending my Love, Support, Hugs to each of you at this time. I am eternally grateful for my association with H. Allen and for all he has done in my behalf. I cherish my quiet conversations with and memories of him and my times visiting with him at corporate. My sympathy and empathy to the family, extended family, Multipure family, and friends and collegues. The world and each of us has been blessed by an amazing, visionary man, and one who exemplified love of Family, God and Country. The “biographical” painting in his office is something that is dear to each of us, I’m sure. I miss him. Someone dear to my heart. Silly to say, and not just because of the North Carolina connection, I always felt a kinship with him, almost as if we were related. Thinking of each of you, the family members and our Multipure family ~ Thank you, H. Allen. With Love and Gratitude, Sue and Scott Anderson Beaverton, Oregon
He will be greatly missed here at Multipure. His stories, his enthusiasm, his passion are all irreplaceable. Sad that he is gone, but happy that he had such a positive impact on so many.