‘Father’ of Kitchener Rangers dies
Eugene George was well respected for bringing hockey club to Kitchener from Guelph
The man many would call the father of the Kitchener Rangers has died.
Eugene George, an entrepreneur whose interests ranged from hockey to horse racing, was 84 when he died Tuesday.
In 1963, George led the group that encouraged the New York Rangers to move its struggling farm team, the Guelph Royals, to Kitchener.
As the Kitchener Rangers’ first president, he turned the financially troubled team around in just a few short seasons.
And in 1967, when the opportunity came to purchase the team from its NHL sponsors for a token dollar, George did so — and promptly turned it over to its season ticket holders.
It’s an ownership model that continues to this day.
“He was unbelievably passionate about the Rangers,” said the team’s chief operating officer, Steve Bienkowski. “He was very proud of where the organization is today.
“For a busy man who had lots of interests, a big family, I think he sat in the background a little bit but always kept an eye on us.”
George and his late wife, Patricia, had eight sons.
Born in Kitchener in 1930, George apprenticed as a bricklayer before co-founding the company that would become GA Masonry.
Based in Breslau, the firm has been involved in a number of highprofile projects including the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington.
George also operated Patene Building Supplies and founded CareLift Equipment.
CareLift Equipment manufactures rough terrain forklifts.
Well-respected in the construction industry, George was the founding president of both the Ontario and Canadian masonry contractors’ associations. He was also the first Canadian to head both the Mason Contractors Association of America and the International Masonry Institute.
Calling him an industry pioneer, the Grand Valley Construction Association inducted George into its hall of fame in 2008. He was also a member of the Waterloo Region Hall of Fame.
His C.E.C. Farms in Breslau indulged another passion, thoroughbred horse racing.
The family’s best horse was locally bred Milwaukee Appeal, whose 2009 season included a win at the Woodbine Oaks, a second-place finish in the Prince of Wales Stakes and a third-place finish at the Queen’s Plate.
She was sold in 2011at the age of five for more than $400,000.
Despite a busy schedule — George told The Record in 2012 that he still worked every day — he would call Bienkowski periodically, and was a fixture at the Rangers’ twice-annual past presidents’ gatherings.
“I could see the respect at the table from his peers,” Bienkowski said. “When he spoke, people listened.”
Visitation is being held on Monday at the Henry Walser Funeral Home in Kitchener, from 1to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.
The service is Tuesday at St. Teresa Catholic Church in Kitchener at 10:30 a.m.