Charles Juravinski
Charles Juravinski (November 1, 1929February 15, 2022) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He was principally known as the founder and owner of the Flamboro Downs racetrack and the co-benefactor, along with his wife Margaret, of the Juravinski Hospital and Juravinski Cancer Centre in Hamilton, Ontario. Charles' birth name is Orest Juravinski. He changed his name to "Charles" after moving to Hamilton. Early life. Juravinski was born in Blaine Lake, Saskatchewan, on November 1, 1929. He was the youngest of four sons born to Irene and Nick Juravinski, who ran the only pool room in Blaine Lake  until the Great Depression. His family eventually relocated to Hamilton, Ontario, during his childhood, motivated by job opportunities arising from wartime industry. He polished shoes at a barbershop on Barton Street and delivered newspapers during his adolescence. Juravinski attended Cathedral High School, but he ultimately dropped out when he was sixteen. He then found employment in factories and as a mortar mixer for a bricklayer. He later ran an Esso gas station when he was 23 years old. Career. After saving up money from his Esso service, Juravinski was employed by Piggott Construction. He also took classes in blueprint reading  to make himself accustomed to the industry. One of his classmates, Bill McCann, teamed up with Juravinski to establish Wilchar Construction in 1958. They operated the company until McCann retired in 1971. Juravinski subsequently ran for the provincial Progressive Conservative nomination after Ray Connell, a Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in Hamilton, decided not to seek another term. However, he was unsuccessful and went into horse racing on the advice of Connell. Although he was counselled to construct a racetrack at the Ancaster fairgrounds, Juravinski opted to build a track from scratch in nearby Flamborough, Ontario. He partnered with trucking  magnate John Grant for the project, which cost C$5 million. Flamboro Downs opened on April 9, 1975, with 6,000 people in attendance. Despite having to compete with five established tracks situated within an hour of Hamilton, Flamboro Downs proved very successful and hosted the Confederation Cup Pace. Juravinski ultimately bought out Grant's stake in the racetrack, and he managed it with his wife Margaret. They were initially going to sell the track for $62 million to the Ontario Jockey Club, which signed a letter of intent in 2000. However, the deal failed and they eventually sold Flamboro  Downs to Magna Entertainment in June 2002 for $72 million and retired. Half a year into retirement, Juravinski and his wife began making considerable donations to the City of Hamilton and McMaster University, focusing on cancer and health care. This permitted the establishment of a new state-of-the-art cancer care facility at the former Henderson Hospital, now renamed the Juravinski Hospital. At first, the couple were reluctant to have the facility named after them, but they ultimately acquiesced. They later gave an endowment of $100 million in 2019 that led to the establishment of the Juravinski  Research Institute (JRI), a partnership between McMaster, Hamilton Health Sciences and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton. This was one of the largest legacy gifts made in Canada. They made their last donation together of $5.1 million to the JRI – to finance studies focused on child and youth health, integrated care and burn trauma – on Valentine's Day 2022, a day before his death. Personal life. Juravinski married Margaret at the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Church in 1956. They had met after being introduced by McCann (who was dating Margaret's sister Kate), and they remained married for 66 years until  his death. They did not have children. Juravinski died in his sleep on the evening of February 15, 2022, at St. Joseph's Villa in Dundas, Ontario. He was 92 years old, and he had suffered from declining mobility and sight prior to his death.