Al Rice

Al Rice, 76, of Hillsboro passed away Sunday, April 13, 2014, at his residence in Hillsboro. A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 AM, Saturday, April 19, 2014, at the First United Methodist Church in Hillsboro with Rev. Denise Rogers and Rev. Leah Hidde-Gregory officiating. Arrangements are under the direction of Marshall & Marshall Funeral Directors in Hillsboro. Inurnment services in Ontario will be scheduled at a later date.

Born on May 9, 1937 on a farm near Roblin, Manitoba, Canada, Al was the youngest of six children born to Mary Blanche and Fred Burnett Rice. His first job, while still in high school, was delivering prescriptions by bicycle. Shortly after high school, he went to work for Sparling Tank.

On May 11, 1957, he married Marion Louise Tucker in Coldwater, Ontario. The couple lived in Toronto, Brampton, Glen Williams, and Georgetown in Canada before moving to Texas in 1980 and settling in Whitney. They moved to Hillsboro in 1990.

Shortly after Al and Marion married, Al went to work for Design Precision Casting. While there he became fast friends with two fellow workers. That friendship grew into more as the three began to dream. In 1963, plans were finalized for their own business and in 1964 Mid Canadian Investment Castings was born. A fledgling business took a lot of work before paying off.

During the early years, while raising four kids and trying to make ends meet, Al worked full-time at DHI (a cabinet making company), drove taxi at night, and worked at Mid Canadian trying to drum up sales. In the early 70's, they became part of Cercast group and changed their name to Cercor. Barry Hadley and Al ran Cercor, while Eric Knoespel branched off with Artcast carrying the artistic work while the other two ventured forward with precision aluminum castings. In 1980, Al moved to Texas to start Cercon, but even with distance the three remained close friends.

Al was the General Manager for Cercon Casting Corporation in Hillsboro for many years. He was a member of Hillsboro Masonic Lodge #196 and was a strong supporter of the local fire and police departments, as well as Hill College and Hillsboro Interfaith Ministries. He attended First United Methodist Church in Mart where his daughter serves as pastor. In addition as a member of the Airport Advisory Board, he was a major advocate in helping to make the Hillsboro Municipal Airport a reality.

Al retired in 1991 and spent the rest of his days traveling as much as possible. An avid adventurer, he wanted to see the world by train, plane, ship, or automobile. He and his wife loved to travel in their RV, as well as sail on cruises. He had flown on the Concorde and sailed in a submarine. While he wasn’t able to fly in the Space Shuttle as he always wanted, Cercon Casting did produce parts for the Shuttle.

Al was preceded in death by his parents, his loving wife, Marion Louise Rice, and three brothers, Alfred, Frank, and Gordon Rice. He is survived by four children, Nancy Louise Rice of Dorchester, New Brunswick, Canada, Darwin Allan Rice and wife, Jenny, of Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, Nadine Marie Ridlehuber and husband, Bill, of Rio Vista, and Denise Elizabeth Rogers and husband, Rick, of Mart; a brother, Glenn Rice of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; a sister, Marie Smith of Barrie, Ontario, Canada; 9 grandchildren, Brandi, Joshua, Ryan, Alicia, Christopher, Jacob, Elizabeth, Angie, and Melissa; 3 great-grandchildren, Caylee, Waylen, and William with two more on the way; many nieces and nephews; and his “furry” child, Daisy.