Lieutenant-General Charles-Henri (Charlie) Belzile (ret.), CM, CMM, CD

Charlie died peacefully on December 5th, surrounded by his girls. He was 83 years old. He will be dearly missed by Janet (nee Scott), his loving wife of 46 years, as well as by his daughters Denise MacGillivray and Suzanne.

Born in Trois-Pistoles Quebec in 1933, he was the 12th and youngest child of Charles Belzile and Alice Dionne. Charlie had a long and distinguished military career spanning 37 years of active service. He joined the military during the Korean War and served in Korea after the cease fire for 13 months. As a career soldier, he served all over Canada as well as in Cyprus and Germany, ultimately as the Commander of Canadian Forces Europe. He retired in 1987 after serving for 5 years as the Commander of Mobile Command (now the Canadian Army). Following his retirement, Charlie was active in many different military and veterans organizations and was recognized with the Order of Canada for his contributions to veterans in Canada.

To all those who knew him, Charlie was larger than life and left an impression on all those that he met. He had a story for every occasion, and loved to give tours of his “I love me” room, where every inch of wall space was covered with plaques and mementos from his long career. He had a great sense of humour and was a life-long Habs fan.

Friends are invited to visit the Hall of Colours of the Beechwood National Memorial Centre, 280 Beechwood Ave. (East of Vanier Parkway) on Monday December 12th from 6 to 9 p.m. The Memorial Service, will be held Tuesday December 13th in the Sacred Space at 1 p.m. followed by a reception.
A private family burial with regimental honours will take place at the National Military Cemetery of the Canadian Forces.

The family is deeply grateful to Veterans Affairs, especially Lyne and Barbara; the nurses from At Home Hospice, and Dr. Vincent and Dr. Plantive for their compassion and care in the final stages of Charlie’s life.

In lieu of flowers, a donation to the Alzheimer Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County or a military or veterans’ organization of your choice would be appreciated.