History of Rice Monument Works

Timeline

 

1958 – W.D. Rice, who had been in the granite business for years in Nova Scotia, started the W.D. Rice & Son memorial company with his son Rod in Winona, Ontario where the business still stands today.

 

1981 – After operating the successful business for twenty-three years, Rod opted to sell to local couple James and Jennifer Scott. They valued the tradition of the business established by the Rice family. Rod even trained James (Jimmy) and his son Andrew in sandblasting methods, as well as the use of hand tools to create cherished monuments. Andrew also ran a related side business – a small cemetery and a lettering business that specialized in adding names and dates to existing monuments.

 

1998 – Jim and Jennifer stepped away from the business, officially selling it to their son, Andrew. He sold his side business to focus on Rice Monuments fulltime. Under Andrew’s stewardship the emphasis shifted more towards personalization. Stencils could be cut to create more unique designs. Rice Monuments offered etching services, creating custom images on stone for customers, and hired artists such as Kestas Keparutis and Paul Kennedy to ensure that all etching is done by hand, not by computers.

 

2008 – Rice Monuments celebrated their 50th Anniversary. What began as W.D. Rice & Son and later evolved into Rice Monuments will now be known as Rice Monument Works.

 

Today - Andrew Scott is proud to continue the tradition of the business. All of our products are locally finished and made from high quality granite sourced from Canada and around the world.