Renaud "Shorty" Joseph Lebonville

Born October 14, 1923 in Turner Falls, Massachusetts, Renaud was the son of the late Louis Maurice Lebonville and Fredelise Andet Lebonville.

Shorty was a proud United States Navy veteran of WWII and the Korean Conflict. After the Korean War, he remained in the Naval Reserves until June 1, 1976, retiring as Command Master Chief Petty Officer (E9). In a PBS interview, he shared the story of his submarines’ rescue of former president George Herbert Walker Bush.

He was a very active member of Oak Grove United Methodist Church; the Long Creek Masonic Lodge, Charlotte Valley of the Scottish Rite and Oasis Shriner’s. Shorty, an electrician, also retired in 1978 from Duke Energy where he had been a supervisor of underground-Uptown Charlotte.

Survivors include his wife, whom he married April 7, 1951 in Great Falls, SC, Dalline Waters Lebonville; 4 children, Gaye Dianne Lebonville of Charlotte, Brenda Ann Henderson and her husband, Mike of Charlotte, Susan Rae Lebonville Small of Charlotte and Ray Joseph Lebonville of Concord; 4 grandchildren, Christina Marie Akers and her husband, Jay, Steven Ray Lebonville and his wife, Christina, Amanda Marie Lebonville and her companion, David French and Terry “TJ” Lynn Small, Jr. and his wife, Becky and 5 great grandchildren, Celeste Morgan Small, Towner James Akers, Ashton Reid Small, AnnMarie Riale Akers and Cooper Violet Akers.

In addition to his parents, Shorty was preceded in death by his siblings, Muriel, Lillian, Leonell, Marjorie, Emery and Loretta.

Funeral services are planned for 3:00 pm Wednesday, August 14, 2019 at Oak Grove United Methodist Church, 6440 Old Statesville Road, Charlotte, NC 28269 with Rev. Innocent Justice officiating. Friends may visit with the family at the church on Wednesday from 1:30 pm until the time of service. Committal services and burial will follow, with military honors and masonic rites, in the church cemetery.

The family wishes to thank the kind employees of Hospice for their caring, professional help over the past months, they are truly angels on earth.