Story prepared by Ashley Foley, Foley Communications & Consulting.
When you see a street sign with someone’s name on it, you know there must be a story somewhere. Thanks to Dustin Van Soelen, of Duvanco Homes who wanted to recognize people of significance and influence to the hockey history of Belleville, he included Raycroft Drive in his plans.
But there is a lot more to the story. From a legacy of humble beginnings to multi-generational entrepreneurship, and public service to private generosity, the Raycrofts haven’t just lived in Belleville; they’ve helped shape it.
It’s nearly impossible to look around Belleville and not see a Raycroft fingerprint. Whether it’s something physical, like the buildings they’ve helped raise, or something intangible, like the values they’ve instilled in the community through decades of giving, the Raycroft name has quietly helped build the very character of this city.
A Legacy Begins: Joe Raycroft’s Vision
The Raycroft story in Belleville begins with John Raycroft, born in the late 1870s who moved from the Niagara area to work at Trenton Airport for $1 a week sometime in the late-1920s. John’s first wife, Bertha, died in 1919 leaving the widower with three children – Bella, Joe and Kath; he remarried in 1928 and had another 9 children – Betty, Jackie, Billy, Charlie, Mary, Barb, Don, Jimmy and Lynn. Joe Raycroft, born in 1907—the second of the twelve children – is where the real legacy begins. Decades later, in 1942, his younger half-brother Don was born and after their father’s death in 1958, Joe was the big brother he needed. Their relationship would define a cross-generational business legacy in Belleville, united by family ties that have woven themselves throughout the community.
Those who knew Joe described Joe as a person dedicated to service, humility, and driven by improving his community. After working as a plumber at Reliance Aircraft during the Second World War – (he’d had a kidney removed and was deemed unfit to serve) – Joe decided to strike out on his own. In 1946, he started Acme (Plumbing), employing brothers Bill and Charlie and the business grew until he sold it to longtime employees Vince Trudeau and Hank Hatfield.
In 1950, Joe opened Rayco Plumbing & Heating Supplies, expanding to provide HVAC mechanical supply services. Don had no intention of becoming a plumber; he wanted to be an architect and exceled in draftsmanship in school. When his father died in 1958, the 16-year-old was the oldest still at home and had to find work to take care of his mother and two youngest siblings so he joined his oldest brother Joe (35 years his senior) at Rayco.
In the early 1960s, Joe sold Rayco to Murray McGee.
He was elected as Alderman for the City of Belleville, and used his business sense and civic-minded community spirit to make Belleville a better place for everyone. He believed in people, and people believed in him.
Around the same time, Joe built the first inground pool in Belleville at his home on Bridge St. East. An early escapade involved a story about the sale of 100 bathtubs to Maurice Rollins, and the delivery of one into Maurice’s living room. Maurice responded with a late-night launch of a tub into the pool, fully decked out in scuba gear.
Tom Raycroft remembers “The kids from all over the neighbourhood would come by to swim. He even hired a lifeguard for a few years just so everyone could be safe—and he loved it,” Tom recalls. The pool became a local gathering spot. With a Pepsi machine stocked outside and an open-door policy at his pool, Joe made sure it was a place for the whole neighbourhood to come together to make memories.
Those acts of generosity, often unseen, are what drove him.
“When there was a bunch of kids around, he’d take all the coins [from the Pepsi machine] and go up and throw it in the pool…” recalls Tom of one of his favourite childhood stories about his dad, painting a picture of his father’s giving heart. It wasn’t about making money; it was about making memories.
Once he’d officially retired, an afternoon front porch conversation with Stu McDougall prompted him to get involved with insurance, and in 1972, Joe founded JJ Raycroft Insurance and suggested his son Tom, fresh out of school, work with him in this new venture. Tom has never regretted that decision.
Don stayed on with Rayco Plumbing & Heating Supplies through the sale to Murray McGee and its transition to Western Supplies Inc. Don took additional training and started designing hydronic heating and HVAC systems; just about every building/high rise built in the early 60s was done by him. He had also moved into sales at this time.
“There isn’t a high rise we didn’t work on,” Don explains. Either Acme or Rayco was involved in the construction of many buildings that still exist today. Joe’s commitment to quality craftsmanship benefited local schools, high rise and municipal buildings.
The Legacy Builds
In 1961, Don met Sandy Harrison, who was working at EMSCO for the Belanger family. She’d moved to Belleville from Picton and with a fur coat and ’57 Chevy, he thought he’d hit the jackpot. The coat and car were just for show; the real treasure was the partnership between the two. They married in 1962 and when Don had to choose between design or sales, Sandy was ready to help build a business. They bought H.G. Frid & Co (a small sheet metal shop in the back end of a building in downtown Belleville) and expanded services to include furnace and air conditioning installation, later renaming the business to DB Raycroft & Son in order continue with the service and supply objectives. Despite warnings from Murray McGee that “you can’t work with your wife” they proved unstoppable and in 1969, Bardon Supplies was founded (Barry was born in 1963 and inspired the combination of Bar and Don).
What began as a modest plumbing and HVAC supply company quickly grew into one of Eastern Ontario’s most trusted businesses.
Meanwhile, Don brought his no-nonsense style and deep-rooted values to every aspect of the business. One story sums up Don perfectly: in the 1970s, when negotiating a business deal at a local coffee shop, Don wrote out the details on a napkin. He was later told it wasn’t a formal contract when the deal’s legality was finalized. He replied plainly, “Well, it’s done. We shook on it,” he stayed true to his word, scribed on the coffee shop napkin. His handshake was his contract—his word, ironclad. Sandy’s astute financial management ensured the money happened.
Barry started working young and by the age of 16 made the decision to work full-time with his parents; though when Don fired him and Sandy rehired him more than once, they decided he might need to try things on his own and Bardon opened their second branch in Kingston in 1987 to “sink or swim”. Barry’s leadership grew the branch from four to 22 employees in 8 years and as the business was expanding – branch by branch – he returned to Belleville in 1995.
Sandy had joked to the family, “You open one more branch and I’m leaving” but with Barry’s return to Belleville, and their daughter, Debi was deeply involved in the family business, starting in Belleville, moving on to build the new branch in Brampton, then Barrie and launched the retail Bathworks showroom there. With family helping to manage the growth, Sandy stood by him as Bardon grew to include 12 wholesale and five retail locations (operating under the name Bathworks).
They were also advocates of efficiency and an early adopter of warehousing technology, using scanners and barcodes to manage inventory. They computerized systems early on and transformed the business into a model operation, so much so that it was featured in national trade publications. “We were number 77 in North America,” Barry proudly recalls, reflecting on the company’s scale and success before it was sold in 2005. Bardon Supplies became known for products and services and for people-first leadership, integrity, and long-term customer care.
The legacy of Bardon isn’t just in buildings or supply chains—it’s in the relationships, the handshakes, and the honest work that built trust across generations.
Don and Sandy were a force even after their retirement in 2005, following the sale of Bardon Supplies to another family-owned business out of Montreal (Groupe Deschenes). They enjoyed their time in Plevna but wanted the convenience of amenities like a restaurant and full grocery store a little closer – so they bought the local restaurant, built a grocery store and installed fuel pumps.
Don’s sharp business sense was balanced by an even sharper moral compass. When his wife, Sandy, gently nudged him to reconsider competing so closely with the only other store in town, Don didn’t just listen—he acted. He made them a generous offer giving them the option to retire comfortably. As the Raycroft family describes, “He wasn’t in it for the money. He was in it for the people.”
That approach earned respect—and results.
Rooted in Community: Service, Volunteerism, and Local Leadership
While Don and Sandy grew their business, Tom helped grow the community.
Tom made his mark quietly through public service. “The insurance business—it was a whim for my Dad,” Tom recalls, but it provided him the day-job that supported his real passion for carrying on his father’s commitment to serving people. Tom ran the business with the same principles his father instilled—integrity, reliability, and a people-first approach.
He became a long-standing member of the Kinsmen Club and played a major role in the success of the Kinsmen Pool. He was a founding member and treasurer of MADD Quinte and served for 10 years. He was on the Board of the Belleville Chamber of Commerce and chaired the Belleville Waterfront Festival. And he has served on the Board of Community Living for 35 years.
In the 1990s, Tom was a founding member of the Buy Locally Owned movement with Tom Lafferty, Jim Parkinson, Neil Ellis, Ken Harnden, Frank Hendry, Erik Lindenberg and Sal Longo. They formalized the group as a non-profit, charged membership dues, and used the funds to sponsor sports teams and revive the city’s Canada Day celebration. With up to 65 members at its peak and a series of local radio ads encouraging residents to shop local, the initiative helped unite Belleville’s business community with its civic pride.
Tom entered a partnership to transfer Raycroft Insurance with Allen Insurance and has now completely retired from the business.
Of the nine siblings born in Belleville, Betty moved out west at a young age, but the rest remained. Jackie worked at Northern Electric and had five sons, Joe, David, Bob, Dennis & Pat – David had a 34 year career with the City of Belleville’s Engineering, Public Works & Construction Department and his wife, Inge spent nearly 40 years at BGH as a Medical Laboratory Technologist. Bob continued in the family business with Bardon Supplies. Dennis worked at Northern and Pat worked at Quaker Oats. Billy worked at Acme and each of his children were active in the community – Tammy with the Salvation Army Corps, Tracey with EI, Teresa at CIBC and Terry with the City of Belleville Public Works. Charlie also worked at Acme, moving from the tools to manage it later in his career. Mary’s son Rex, works at Bardon, Valerie with the Salvation Army Corps while Barb went to the city but stayed within the construction industry. Barb’s daughter Wendy started with Bardon and moved onto a sister company in Ottawa, Kim is also in Ottawa. Lynn was married to Norm Richards, of BMO and a past Chamber President; their daughter Cheryl is in California.
The 4th Generation:
By now, there are a lot of Raycrofts in Belleville, but it’s hard to say if anyone would even know the name outside of Belleville if it weren’t for Tom & Linda’s son, Andrew.
Andrew made the name a household one for Boston and Toronto fans during his professional hockey career in the NHL. Drafted to the NHL by Boston as 135th pick in 1998, he won the OHL MVP (Red Tilson Award) in 1999 – the first goaltender to be recognized in 50 years. He gets his first NHL win 2000 and in 2004, he wins the NHL Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year). Andrew remained connected to the sport—offering mentorship, commentary, and involvement with local hockey programs. Much like the rest of the Raycroft family, his legacy is one of dedication and leadership.
His sister, Jillian Raycroft, followed a different path though equally impactful. As a registered dietitian, health coach, and now a successful real estate professional, Jillian brings the Raycroft values of hard work, honesty, and care for people into every career she’s pursued.
This tradition of excellence extends beyond Belleville. David’s son, Darren Raycroft, has carried the family name into new frontiers. As the Managing Director of the North American Life Sciences & Healthcare practice at Bedford Group Transearch, Darren leads executive recruitment for some of the most influential health and pharma organizations across North America. He also founded the nationally recognized “Top 20 Under 40 in Canadian Life Sciences” award program. Though his career has taken him to Boston and Toronto, Darren and his family continue to live in the greater Belleville area—remaining rooted in the community that shaped them. His sister, Rachel, followed her mother in the healthcare field and started her nursing experience in Belleville.
Rob Raycroft still works at Bardon; Lindsey works at Loyalist College, Matt is a certified electrician, Drake (Don’s grandson) opened Boardy’s Plumbing when he moved from Barrie to Belleville and his brother Connor, works at Bardon in Barrie.
There are so many more but this captures a portion of the legacy behind a name and the generational impact a family has on a community.
A Legacy That Lives On
As Belleville continues to grow, it does so on the shoulders of those who came before. The Raycroft family has built, supported, and lifted this community in every imaginable way. They’ve shown us what it means to lead with integrity. To give without asking. To work hard, live humbly, and love where you live.
The Raycrofts didn’t do it for attention. They did it for Belleville. And as we honour them with the Legacy Award, we also honour the generations of community builders they’ve inspired.
