Former construction company president, Rotarian dies at 84
According to those who knew him well, Rene Albert Vercruyssen was a true pillar of the Chico community.
Vercruyssen died on April 20, 2022 of a heart attack while on a bike ride. He was 84 years old.
Michelle Curran worked with Vercruyssen in the Reading Pals program, a nonprofit which pairs volunteers with students from elementary schools who need a little extra support. Volunteers read with children for an hour per week. Vercruyssen volunteered for the program consistently for 11 years.
“He was one of my very first volunteers, in February of 2011,” Curran said. “He was such a generous spirit. He really saw the potential in each student. Rene went above and beyond.”
Curran said Vercruyssen worked with at least 30 students during his time at Reading Pals. “He was such an impactful person in their lives,” she said.
“He had a way about him. He knew how to encourage and connect with people on a personal level,” Curran said. “He went above and beyond for people and he had a way of seeing them. He was a dear soul; we will all miss him and we appreciated getting to know him. He was a wonderful guy and I’m glad he’s being honored.”
Butte County District 4 Supervisor Tod Kimmelshue also knew and admired Vercruyssen.
“I would just say that for as long as I’ve known Rene, he was very community oriented and always put community first,” Kimmelshue said. “He loved the Chico community. He was a Rotarian for a long time. The Chico Noon Rotary’s motto is ‘service above self’ and that is how Rene lived his life.”
“If someone asked him to do something, he would do it, even when he was in his 80s. He had an engineering background, so he provided knowledge and experience,” Kimmelshue said.
Kimmelshue said Vercruyssen served in Chico Noon Rotary from 2001 until he died. He died on a Wednesday and was at a Rotary meeting just the day before.
“He was just a lovely, lovely man and always worked very hard for the community,” Kimmelshue said. “I helped him with a labyrinth project at a children’s park. He oversaw the construction of that. We also did projects at Caper Acres. He was in charge of that and also Centennial park.”
Vercruyssen’s son, Rene Joseph Vercruyssen, had much to say about his father.
“He was a good man, but he never gave himself that label,” said Rene Joseph Vercruyssen. “My grandfather would tell me your dad is a good man.”
“My dad devoted himself to Rotary, the Salvation Army, seniors in retirement, and Reading Pals,” Vercruyssen said. “This is what the community will remember about him.”
Vercruyssen said his father ran Baldwin Contracting Company, which was bought by Knife River in the 1990s. “With just a high school education from Christian Brothers in Sacramento, he rose to be president of the largest road construction company in Sacramento and Redding. He was a stellar employee,” Vercruyseen said. “His dad told him when he was 14 he would be working summers and weekends.”
“He was a big man, and when he reached his 80s his legs were not what they used to be,” the son said. “Reading Pals extended my dad’s life. By the time my dad went to Rosedale school in the middle of the workday, he had to park down the street from the school and walk. His walk was labored and unsteady but he loved doing it. He rode his bicycle six days a week so he could stay in shape. He looked like a teenager on that bike. He biked steady into the wind, with resolve.”
Vercruyssen said his father would take his bicycle to Pullins Cyclery for a tune up, and he rode it six days a week, with the exception of Sunday, when he attended St. John the Baptist Church on Chestnut Street.
Vercruyseen said his parents lived in Chico since 1972. His father grew up in Sacramento at 38th and 8th streets. He attended Sacred Heart Elementary and Christian Brothers High School. Vercruyssen met his wife in 1957 and they got married in 1959.
Vercruyssen said after his dad retired in 2003 at age 65, he devoted the second chapter of his life to the welfare of others.
“The Salvation Army tagline is ‘doing the most good’ and my dad woke up every morning and thought, where do I go today to do the most good?” Vercruyssen said.
Vercruyssen said his dad loved his mom “more than life itself.”
Jolene Francis, vice president of philanthropy and communications for Enloe Medical Center, said she served in the Chico Noon Rotary for 21 years with Vercruyssen.
“He and his wife Ethyle were married for a long time,” Francis said. “Every year around their anniversary, he would stand up at Rotary meetings and let the club know which year they were married and said ‘my lovely wife and I have been married a long time.’ A man who brags about his wife when she is not around is devoted. It was so sweet, he adored her and talked so kindly about her.”
Glen Eaton was president of the Rotary Club in 2019 and 2020. “Rene was just always there,” Eaton said. “His professional background in road building was a huge help during projects. He was a great person to talk to about projects. I was always told don’t let him work too hard, but he would just grab a shovel and start digging. His health was not as good as he got older, and he was assigned a high schooler to keep him out of trouble.”
“He was just one of those guys everyone really liked,” Eaton said. “He was a great, great person. We are going to miss him a whole lot. He was a true example of a Rotarian, and that is high praise coming from other Rotarians. He was one of a kind.”