“I did it my way”

Charles “Chuck” Ilenda, 83, passed away on August 1, 2026, after a brief battle with cancer. He was born May 15, 1943, in Duluth, MN to parents Felix and Ethel Ilenda, and grew up in Pike Lake, MN. His whole life, Chuck was always a hard worker and strived to reach higher standards. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout at an early age, earning 37 merit badges, the Pro Deo et Patria award of the Lutheran Church, and tied a national record for perfect attendance at seven years. At 19, he received the Quartermaster Award, the highest honor as a Sea Scout Explorer.

Chuck was never satisfied with doing anything average. He would say, “anything worth doing is worth doing well.” Friends and family often joked that everything had to be built to “Chuck’s Standards,” which was over the top, meticulously crafted and built to last. As a young teenager he built a complex wooden soapbox derby car and in Sea Scouts he built his sextant out of brass when the requirement only called for one made from plywood.

After graduating in 1961 from Proctor High School, Chuck followed his passion for spending time on the water and sailing. He attended Northwestern Prep School in Minneapolis and received an appointment to attend Kings Point U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in New York. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Transportation, earned a commission as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy and a Third Mate’s License in the U.S. Merchant Marine. After graduation he sailed as a Second Mate for the Moore-McCormack Line for four years, sailing on their Baltic run and for a year in Africa.

In 1971, Ceres Terminals hired Chuck as a Stevedore where he managed hiring longshoreman and coordinating with elevators to load grain into ocean going ships. In Duluth/Superior, he was responsible for loading 75-90% of the grain ships in the port, including his busiest year loading 240 ships, often working from 4 am to midnight. When Chuck retired in 2017 from Ceres, he had been their longest-tenured employee, working for over 46 years.

It was when he was at Kings Point that he met the love of his life, Veronica “Ronnie” Ford, from Kings Park, Long Island NY. They were married in Kings Park on November 26, 1966, and moved to Minnesota, living in Pike Lake for five years before settling in Duluth where they raised five children. Chuck was very devoted to Ronnie and their family. He led by example, teaching his children the value of hard work, integrity, self-reliance and taking pride in doing every job to the best of one’s ability. His lessons were often taught not with words, but by working side-by-side on projects and solving problems.

Chuck had many passions, his family, woodworking, photography, wildlife art, sketching (a talent he picked up from his dad Felix), camping and canoeing in the BWCA. His favorite hobby was building projects. Combining his drafting skills from college and woodworking, Chuck was a modern master builder. He designed and built several residential and cabinetry projects.

His biggest passion was going “up North” to the cabin known to all as Frog Hollow. He bought the property and small log cabin in 1990 and spent most weekends there over the next 35 years appreciating nature, the quiet solitude, and building his projects – offering an opportunity for family and friends to appreciate his craftsmanship, often times lend a hand in building and sometimes to just enjoy the surrounding beauty of nature.

Chuck’s major building projects included renovating an old farmhouse in Pike Lake for his mom, a historic English Tudor in East Duluth that included a four-level addition, a boat house at the cabin, a major second floor addition and complete renovation at his Piedmont Duluth residence and the crown jewel, the new two-story cabin at Frog Hollow.

He will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and all whose lives he touched. Chuck was preceded in death by his parents, Felix and Ethel Ilenda, and brother Phil Ilenda. He is survived by his wife of nearly 60 years, Ronnie Ilenda, sisters Marilynn Nordness, Valerie Staton, five children – Kirk (Shannon) Ilenda, Kim (Jerry) Weber, Keith Ilenda, Kevin (Adnana) Ilenda, and Kristopher (Lindsey) Ilenda; five grandchildren Keegan, Kyle, Noah, Isabelle and Adam; and five great grandchildren – Emmy, Easton, Felix, Ford and Fitzpatrick.

A visitation is scheduled for Tuesday, August 11th at 10:00 am at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Superior, WI, with a Funeral Mass at 11:00 am and family-hosted luncheon in the parish hall following afterward.