RAYCROFT, Gary

RAYCROFT, Gary Alan May 26, 1954 – March 15, 2019 Gary died surrounded by his family after suffering a devastating stroke.

He was predeceased by his parents Lorne and Elinor Raycroft, brother-in-law Michael Willson, close friends Rod Brookes and Mark Nelson, his beloved dog Miloh and numerous feline companions. He is survived by his life partner Barbara Evans; daughter Melanie (Conn) and son Hollie; cherished grandchildren Esmé, Quinn and Jude; much loved older sister Louise Lehto (Rod) and nieces Allison (Ryan) and Lisa (Ryan); much loved younger sister Karen Campbell (Peter) and nephews Ian and Colin; brother and sisters-in-law and close friends Bert and Gail Visheau and Julie Willson; and nieces and nephews Sarah and Kevin; Adam and Michelle; Jordan and Jenny; Emily and Joe; Terry and Stacey; Marie; and a gaggle of great-nieces and nephews. Gary will be very much missed by his dear friends Alex van Nostrand, Kathryn Nelson, Jeff and Debbie Visheau, and Tom Brookes.

Gary was definitely a force to be reckoned with. Although he lived much of his life in chronic pain, a condition that limited him severely and kept him from achieving many of his goals, he kept on fighting and never gave up. He was a man of great integrity and generosity. He held strong opinions and never wavered in his convictions. He abhorred intolerance, bigotry, greed, pretense and small mindedness. He was a staunch feminist. He had no time for organized religion, which he believed was responsible for much of the misery in the world. He cared very much for our environment and did everything possible to leave only a small footprint on our fragile planet. He was an avid student of history and a political junkie who was very concerned about the spread of right wing intolerance as evidenced by the elections of Trump and Ford, and he was angered by the rise of white supremacy that is violently erupting across the planet. He found some hope in the grassroots movements of young people that have started to gain strength around the globe, and he very much admired the student activists from the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, who are working so diligently to enact change in their country.

Above all, Gary loved music of most genres and was a veritable music encyclopedia. He was a composer, singer and guitarist, and over the years, he played in a number of groups. Fortunately for us, he recorded much of his repertoire. These days he was enjoying singing and playing in the family band, The Bertles, with Bert, Adam, Jeff and Terry, to much acclaim from family and friends. Gary was also an avid reader. He devoured books: history, politics, biography, poetry, fiction- Brookner, Bukowski, Chaucer, Horowitz, McDermid, Monroe, Nesbo, Pepes, Rankin, Robinson …. I couldn’t keep up with him. He was the only one of us who not only made it through James Joyce’s Ulysses but read it again.

Gary loved animals. When we spent a decade living on a farm, he took in cast- aside and injured creatures, brought them back to health and found them homes. When we took him in, our beloved dog Miloh was very neglected and abused. Gary loved that dog with all his heart and soul, and they became quite the team over the years. Once we moved back into Hamilton, Gary became part of the HBSPCA’s Catch Neuter and Release program for feral cats. Of course, many of those cats ended up permanent residents of our house where they thrived on his gentle care and love. He was too a proud Hamiltonian and never abandoned downtown, going weekly to the bank, Farmer’s Market and Denningers, supporting small businesses whenever he could. He was a lifelong Ti-Cat fan (who never got over Bob Young not building the new stadium in the west end location.)

In his later years, Gary became a grandpa to Quinn, Jude and Esmé (who fondly renamed him G-Dog and Gar-Bear). He was tailor-made for that role. Whenever they arrived to visit from Ottawa, the popsicles were waiting in the freezer, the fresh Italian bread was ready for toast and butter, and the popcorn, Fresca and chocolate were all set for movie time or the nature channel. He so loved those children and was very proud of them. They will never forget the time they got to spend with him and the important lessons he taught them about fairness, compassion and being true to one’s self.

Gary’s strong opinions could sometimes leave us infuriated; his stubbornness was legendary, as was his attention to detail and his need to have everything laid out just so. He could fume over things he thought weren’t fair and didn’t suffer fools. But these traits made us love him even more. Gary loved his family and friends. He loved Melanie, Hollie and Conn so much and was very proud of them and their accomplishments. He loved being home, just relaxing, listening to music and talking.

Life isn’t fair, we all know this. It isn’t fair that Gary had to leave us so suddenly and far too soon. He should have been there to keep lovin