Joseph Charité Gerard Renard, age 89, of Hinche, Haiti, entered into the presence of the majesty of God on Thursday, April 2, 2020 in McDonough, Georgia. Born on September 3, 1930, the son of the late Mr. Obas Renard and Mme. Lumenas Descartes, he was the oldest of 7 children.
Following grade school, Gérard attended seminary school for many years. Upon returning to his native town, he received his graduate degree and started his professional career as recording director at the tax assessor’s office. He went on to work as tax collector in Miragoane, and then as chief of staff of the tax assessor's office in PAP.
He emigrated to the US with his family in 1986 and worked on an assembly line for many years.
Gérard is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Mme Marie Ronare Renard, nee Marie Ronare Pyrrhon and their 5 children: Rachel Renard of Elmont, NY, Jacques Ernst Renard of Tampa, FL, Geralde Maxi of McDonough, GA, Iderle Ferdinand of McDonough, GA, and Margareth Larrieux of Marlborough, MA. His brothers, Mr. Joseph Olange Renard, Mr. Cantave Renard and Mr. André Renard; his sisters, Mme Salim Salomon, née Joséphine Renard, Mme Bernard Augustin, née Louisine Renard, and Mme Jean Claude Gilles, née Thérèse Renard; his 8 grandchildren and many loving nephews, nieces, relatives and friends.
He was a storyteller who loved to tell jokes, a lover of home remedies and a plant grafting enthusiast. To anyone who had an ailment, he expressed his love of natural remedies and generosity by sending them seeds, dried leaves and information about medicinal plants and their uses. If you had an ailment, he had a natural cure, earning him the nickname, “Doktè Fèy” (leaf doctor).
Due to the COVID-19 regulations, a virtual memorial service will be held on Tuesday April 14, 2020 with burial to follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in College Park, Georgia and will be streamed LIVE for family and friends at 10:00AM at https://www.facebook.com/HAWFairview/. We request family and friends to send messages, photos or videos to www.mem.com/09110312.
In lieu of sending flowers, the family is requesting that those who want to honor Gerard’s life long commitment to health and helping others can make donations to Partners in health, at the following link: Partners in Health -Zanmi Lasante (https://donate.pih.org/page/outreach/view/campaign/JosephGerardRenard)
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