Gananoque comes to celebrate the life of Charlie Donevan

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Many people go through life barely seen and quickly forgotten. Not so Charlie Donevan – Mr. Gananoque – has left an indelible mark on his community and the surrounding area and will be remembered for many years to come.

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“I stand before you on behalf of myself and my family in gratitude for your support and belief in Charlie Donevan,” said his daughter Mary Donevan at a celebration of life held at Grace United Church in Gananoque on May 25. “For your consideration. and undying gratitude for his commitment to humbly serve you in this community. Thank you for listening to his ideas and believing in his goal-oriented community projects; for his diverse projects, despite how far-fetched, revolutionary, out-of-the-box or impractical they may have been. (He was) charismatic and persuasive; you were persuaded to consider his vision, whether dragged along willingly or unsuspectingly, reluctant at first but triumphant in the end, trusting in his steadfast, unyielding, determined mentality. Because of you, his courageous community of dedicated people, Charlie has been able to achieve so much in 99 years.”

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And he succeeded – Charlie’s imprint is everywhere. From the family hardware store that started as Joel Stone’s trading post, became owned by Donevan’s and continued to grow and serve the community for many years under Charlie’s loving hand, to projects such as VAGA Gallery and Landon Bay Center, he continued to dream. and building and sharing with his community. Always a man of vision with a deep need to serve his community, his mind continued long after many would have given up and found more restful pursuits.

“This community was Charlie’s first love,” his daughter said. “His second love was his church. . . . Before this church burned in 1979, he had the foresight and great fortune on the building committee that year to increase the $100,000 insurance policy to $1 million.”

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That million dollar policy enabled the rebuilding of the church and the improvements that stand to this day.

His third love was his family business, closely followed by his love of the St. Lawrence and for the environment.

“Charlie was just being himself; humble, driven, passionate and determined,” she said. “The word ‘never’ was never in his vocabulary. He believed, perhaps naively, but brilliantly, that he could achieve anything he wanted and never looked back.

“He was never disheartened, disappointed or disappointed. He never complained, criticized or thought about himself. He was selfless and generous. If you needed something and couldn’t afford it, he would give it to you.”

This is just the tip of the iceberg, a tiny tip of the amazing treasure that was Charlie Donevan. All who knew him and worked with him in any capacity, all who knew him, felt a great loss with his passing.

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Attendants for his celebration were people from all walks of life, from mayors of at least two communities, city council members, professionals of the highest caliber, to ordinary people of all ages who came to honor Charlie. He was a friend to all and a counselor to many, and they didn’t want to leave without being able to say goodbye.

“He overcame a lot of obstacles,” his daughter said. “To survive the golden hour, a heart attack; to overcome a broken hip, kidney failure, and a pacemaker-requiring collapse.

“Last year, 2023, at the age of 99, he sat in a chair by the wood stove and signed postcards from early morning until closing time. Begging him to take a break to avoid exhaustion, he would say, “I can’t do this. I might miss someone. He hasn’t missed a day of work in 95 years, even if we were closed, he’d still be there, (just) except a few times, it wasn’t good.”

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But eventually, we all have to leave the party and move on. On May 2, Charlie left Gananoque to join his beloved Kay, the wife he had loved forever and who had predeceased him many years before.

“We had just reopened the store for the season,” said Gord McFarlane, Donevan’s project partner. “He looked around at us and seemed pleased. He seemed to say, “Everything is fine here, I can trust you to take care of this, you don’t need me anymore.” And he slept.”

Those who wish to share them with the family can find them at Donevan’s Hardware whenever they are open or enjoy any of the many other places Mr. Gananoque has left his mark through his involvement. The best gift, however, will be to do as Charlie would have done – listen to others, reach out to those in need, and see what you can do to help your community.

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