Mary Eileen Rice (Logsdon) of Bloomington, IN and known to most as Eileen or Jasmine, passed away at Richland Bean Blossom Health Care Center on Friday April 12th, 2024 at the age of 81. She was born January 16th, 1943 in Chicago, IL while her father John was serving in WWII in the South Pacific. Her mother Marie Lucille spent the next two years raising Eileen before she got to meet her father. After the allies returned home, the family eventually moved to Melrose Park and then Elmwood Park, IL as the family grew – first Margaret, then Katherine, and last John (Jr). The Logsdon household became a busy home. Eileen went to St Celestine’s Elementary and Notre Dame High School and graduated in 1961. After that Eileen tried her hand at several jobs available to women at the time including a shop girl and secretary, then married Bill VanVlack and lived in Miller Beach, IN and Chicago, IL. However, she did not find any happiness in this marriage and they divorced after a few years.
At that point Eileen had chosen to focus instead on the study and process of creating art and enrolled at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago, and graduated with a BFA. She was awarded a grant through the Illinois Art Council to study at Ox-Bow School of Art and Residency in Michigan for a summer, and was hired on to teach there for a few summers following this as well. These experiences had a profound impact on her sense of identity as an artist, but Eileen never settled on a preferred medium or produced any more than the occasional piece of art, typically in response to an assignment for a class, when she would take one. She had tremendous, undeniable talent in everything that she put her hand to, but lacked the voice, confidence, or fire to fuel a career in the world of art.
In 1976 Eileen moved to Cleveland Heights, OH and met her one true partner in life, Mitch Rice. He was a street musician, and together they developed their own brand of American music, leaning heavily towards public domain and folk. They got married in 1978 in Cleveland, and shortly after tragically lost their first baby a few weeks after he was born, a beautiful boy named Angus. This immeasurable heartbreak brought on a paralysis of grief, anger, and distrust towards western medicine that persisted for the rest of her life. By 1979 Eileen was pregnant again. The couple moved to Coconut Grove, FL where Eileen was a baker in a macrobiotic restaurant. In November, a healthy baby girl named Emma was caught by Ina May Gaskin on The Farm in Summertown, TN. Eileen was a strong proponent of homebirth after her experience at The Farm, a small intentional community that created a space for training midwives, communal living, non-violence, and respect for Mother Earth.
The new triad moved on initially to Nashville and then Bloomington, IN by 1980 to live in the Allen Building where Eileen opened her long lived and beloved store, Jasmine Vintage Clothing. For many, Eileen and Jasmine Vintage Clothing became synonymous, and she answered to the name Jasmine all over town. The store specialized in Eileen’s favorite eras, the 40s and 50s, which she associated with her childhood. Eileen enjoyed many friendships with the artists and musicians who lived in the Allen building, along with other businesses like the Bellevue Gallery, By Hand Gallery, Ryder Magazine, and WQAX. Jasmine Vintage Clothing closed in 1993 with the sale of the Allen Building to real estate developers.
Eileen and Mitch moved the family into a small saltbox house on Harmony Rd in 1983, where they welcomed a healthy son named Tim in a home birth attended by Ann Prochilo and Mary Edson. Eileen enjoyed the robust art community of Bloomington and spent many Friday evenings visiting the various galleries of Bloomington to admire and critique the latest art. Eileen also continued to play music with Mitch who played guitar, banjo, and harmonica. Eileen was the percussionist and entertainment both, delighting children with the limberjack, a little dancing man on a bouncing plank and then later, a chicken, a dog, a bear- one to match every song that they had. They were weekly regulars at the Community Farmers Market, and many an appreciative farmer would tip a head of lettuce in lieu of silver coins. Eileen always endeavored to break down the barriers between performer and audience, eschewing a traditional stage, instead providing the youngest in the crowd with homemade shakers and encouraging them to join in and dance.
In 1990, Eileen started volunteering as a docent at the IU (Eskenazi) Museum of Art where she spent many hours teaching young and old alike about the collections housed there. She loved the friends and memories she made volunteering there, taking trips to nearby cities to see traveling collections. Eileen spent a significant amount of time in art museums, and in any city she visited she could be found dragging her family along to discover what jewels could be found inside.
In the last 5 years of her life Eileen struggled with delusions related to Lewy Body Dementia, and as her body deteriorated due to Parkinson’s, she didn’t always seem like herself. Her family is very thankful for the loving care she received at Richland Bean Blossom Health Care Center. A private celebration of life is planned. Friends are requested to contact the family so we can have a genuine and loving exchange of memories in lieu of a memorial service. She will be missed.
Emma Rice, 2024
