Charles Belair

1914 - 2012  (98 years)

• Name	Charles Belair
  Born	7 Sep 1914	Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts, United States
  Gender	Male
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-99427
  Died	7 Sep 2012	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Person ID	I99427	Generations
  Last Modified	7 Nov 2024

  
  

  Father	Belair,   b. Abt 1885, of, Massachusetts ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F32357	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Cora Lackenbauer,   b. Abt 1920,   d. Bef 2009  (Age ~ 88 years)
  Last Modified	12 Nov 2024
  Family ID	F34015	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Charles Belair image from Waterloo Region Hall of Fame.

  
  

• Notes

  CHARLES BELAIR For more than 70 years, Charles Belair, the dean of photography in Kitchener-Waterloo, created more than 22,200 images of people, including prime ministers and multiple generations of local families. He also photographed several thousand locally-produced products leaving a pictorial record of the history of this community. Born in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1914, Belair moved to Kitchener with his mother in the early 1920s to join his father who had immigrated here to take a job at the Lang Tanning Company. Belair completed his primary education in Kitchener and then attended Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School in the technical program where he specialized in drafting. It was at KWC&VS that he began taking pictures for The Grumbler, the school year book. Unable to find a drafting job, Belair worked for a local photographer and bought the business in 1939, the same year his photograph of the Royal visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth made the front page of the Kitchener Daily Record. In 1982, Belair was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. In 2000, Belair was named an Honourary Senior Fellow by Renison College, University of Waterloo for his contribution to the community. In 2002, Belair was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, as well as the K-W Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement recognizing his contribution to the cultural vitality of Waterloo Region. A member of the Kitchener Rotary Club for more than 60 years, in 2007 Belair and his wife Keiko established the Keiko and Charles Belair Centre for East Asian Studies at Renison College, University of Waterloo. Waterloo Region Hall of Fame

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 7 Sep 1914 - Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts, United States Died - 7 Sep 2012 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth