February 17, 2022

St. Joe’s Mourns the Loss of Charles Juravinski

Joint Statement from St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton & St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation Regarding the Passing of Charles Juravinski

There are people who seem to defy the passage of time, and Charles Juravinski was one of them. While he was in his 92^nd year, we were both surprised and saddened to learn of his passing on February 16, 2022. But we were also fortified by a strong desire to ensure that we live up to the high expectations he, and his wife Margaret, set out for us as a leading academic health sciences centre in Hamilton. 

Together, over the past 20 years, Charles and Margaret donated more than $20 million to St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation. Their gifts have shaped the landscape of St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.

A $5 million gift made in 2005 helped to construct the 10-storey Juravinski Innovation Tower at our Charlton Campus, while a $10 million gift a decade later was integral to the creation of the Margaret & Charles Juravinski Centre for Integrated Healthcare at our West 5^th Campus.

These are not just buildings that bear the Juravinski name. They are window-filled spaces that comfort our patients. They are carefully constructed facilities that support our staff as they deliver the very best care to all those in need. They are projects that have transformed the way that Hamiltonians seek and receive care at St. Joe’s.

With every gift they made, and in every conversation we shared, Charles and Margaret imparted that the reason for their giving, their true inspiration, was to improve the lives of the people who were entrusted to our care, and those who would follow in their footsteps, too.

It’s a noble wish, and one they conveyed in a letter to the community penned following their $100 million legacy gift to establish the Juravinski Research Institute, a research partnership between St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences. The letter from Charles and Margaret reads:

“It brings us great pleasure to think that when we are gone,
our legacy to this community may be measured in the
good health of those who will come after us.”

In 20 years, Charles and Margaret attended more than a few gift announcements, sign unveilings, galas and golf tournaments here at St. Joe’s. After his remarks at the podium were over, after the cheques were presented, and the photos were taken, you could always find Charles tucked away from the crowd chatting with a healthcare provider or a patient, asking about their journey and finding out how his gift may be able to help them. That was what mattered to him the most.

It’s what matters the most to us, too.

All of us at St. Joe’s offer our most sincere condolences to Margaret Juravinski who has lost her lifelong love so soon after celebrating their 65^th Valentine’s Day together. We hope that Charles may rest in peace knowing that he will be fondly remembered by all of us at St. Joe’s. Let’s honour his memory and continue his legacy through the care we provide and the research we pursue.

Yours sincerely,

Sera Filice-Armenio
President & CEO
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation

Melissa Farrell
President
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton