Charles Patrick Renaud passed away peacefully at St Peter's Hospital on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, surrounded by family. He was born September 27, 1927 in Winnipeg Manitoba, where he spent his young years before stretching the truth about his age to serve during WWII in both the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian Army. After this, Chuck worked in various jobs in cities across Canada and around the world including radio DJ, miner, and chocolate factory worker, before he found his true calling as a theatre electrician and lighting designer. Chuck started this career in New York City in the 1950s taking calls as a stagehand, which led to opportunities as one of the original employees of the Manitoba Theatre Centre, a key organiser of Expo '67 in Montreal, working with impresario Sol Hurok, and touring with a Hungarian dance troupe, where he met his future wife, Viktoria (in an argument about lighting). After a whirlwind romance across two continents, Chuck arrived one day in Budapest and surprised Viki, and they were married there in May, 1973. By 1975, they had moved back to Canada where they raised their family in Hamilton, Ontario. Settled there, Chuck became heavily involved in the arts scene, working at Hamilton Place (FirstOntario Concert Hall) as a proud member of IATSE Local 129, and supporting multiple local artistic projects from Creative Arts' Festival of Friends and Earthsong to the Tivoli Theatre, as well as regenerating Port Dover's Lighthouse Festival Theatre in the 1980s. Chuck was also active in local politics, particularly in west Hamilton where he ran for Alderman in Ward 1. In more recent years, Chuck was the support network, coffee maker, caretaker and alternate player for Viki and many others at the Hamilton Bridge Centre. Chuck is remembered by his wife Viki, children Mike, André, Barb and Kimm, grandchildren Stella and Marshall, son-in-law Rafay, brother Maurice, and countless other friends and family in Canada, the Netherlands, Hungary, and beyond. Plans for a memorial will be shared soon and the family are grateful for the exceptional care provided by St. Peter's Hospital West3. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, those who wish may make a donation to support the arts through Hamilton Theatre Inc (
https://hamiltontheatre.com/donation-form/) as they are raising funds to improve their lighting system, or designated to the St Peter's Hospital Foundation (
https://www.hamiltonhealth.ca/memorialgiving).
Published by The Hamilton Spectator on Jul. 16, 2022.
