George Edward Renard Sr.

LEXINGTON – George Edward Renard, Sr. of 228 North Lake Drive, Lexington, husband of Olga Lorraine Mack Renard, died Sunday, May 29, 2011. The rosary will be prayed at 6:00 p.m. with visitation to follow on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at Caughman-Harman Funeral Home, Lexington Chapel. The funeral Mass with full military honors will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, June 2, 2011 at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, 1529 Assembly Street, Columbia, SC. Burial will follow in Lexington at the Mack family plot in St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church Cemetery. Msgr. Leigh Lehocky will conduct the service. Pallbearers are his three grandsons, his nephew, Mike Aun, and two of his dearest friends, Mike Roth and Charles Sullivan and honorary pallbearer, Lou Davis. Born in Cleveland, Ohio on January 28, 1921, he was the eldest son of George James and Catherine Snitel Renard. He came to South Carolina during World War II when he was sent to the Columbia Army Airbase with an Ordinance Company that was attached to the 310th Bomb Group, 379th Squadron, which was assigned to support Doolittle’s Raiders. After 49 missions as a navigator and bombardier in the European Theater (Africa, Sicily, and Italy) from June 1943 – March 1944, he returned to Columbia to train gunners on the A-26’s which were to be sent to the South Pacific.

George met his loving wife on May 28, 1944 and they were married at the Columbia Army Airbase Chapel on September 12, 1944. They opened the Toastee Shoppee on Main Street in Lexington in September 1945 after he was discharged from the Army.

He went to work October 2, 1950 for the South Carolina National Guard, 3649th Ordinance Company. He retired after 32 years in the Military.

George was a member of St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, where he was an usher for many years, a volunteer fireman with the Town of Lexington with 30 years of service, a Charter Member of the Lexington Junior Chamber of Commerce, a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, a life member of the 57th Bomb Wing Association, and a Fourth Degree Knight with the Knights of Columbus.

He was able to fix anything from cars to air conditioners to plumbing and collected all sorts of junk because “he might be able to use it later”. A family man who placed his wife and children above everything, he enjoyed fixing things, watching television, and reading in his retirement.

He is survived by his wife; his children, Catherine Renard Saleeby and her husband, L. Ronald Saleeby, George Edward Renard, II and his wife, Nanette M. Renard, and his grandchildren, Angela Catherine Saleeby Waters and her husband, H. Dewayne Waters, George Edward Renard, III, Emily Nicole Renard, and Ronald George Saleeby. George was predeceased by his brother, Joseph James Renard.

Memorials may be made to St. Peter’s Catholic Church Endowmenr Fund or a charity of one’s choice.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to Harmony Hospice for their care and concern.