Peter R.H. Renaud was called Home by the Father on Thursday, April 12th, 2012. His last place of residence prior to his illness was at an independent facility, Patrician Arms, on Manhattan Avenue in Tampa, FL. However, since his second stroke in October of 2011, he was no longer able to care for himself due to the onset of Alzheimer's/dementia and paralysis as a result of a third stroke on February 14th, 2012, and he was forced to enter a healthcare facility. Countryside Rehab and Healthcare Center in Palm Harbor, FL, was the last facility he was a resident of. Mr. Renaud was born "Roger H. Renaud" on February 2, 1927, to the late Louis Renaud and Yvonne Dube, in Lowell, Massachusetts. His elementary school education was under the tutelage of the Grey Nuns of the Cross (Sisters of Charity of Ottawa ) at Notre Dame de Lourdes school. After his graduation from 8th grade, he answered the call to religious life and entered the Marist Brothers Scholasticate in Tyngsboro, MA, where he completed his high school. After high school he went on to the Marist Brothers Novitiate in Poughkeepsie, NY, received his Bachelors Degree from Fordham University and pronounced his final vows from there taking the name "Brother Peter Maurice" which he bore during his 25+ years of service. His years of service as a Brother were spent as a high school teacher of math and sciences in New York and Massachusetts. In the 60's he volunteered as a missionary to the Philippine Islands where he served as a professor at college level for 12 years. Upon leaving the Marist Brothers, he chose to retain the name "Peter" as his legal name having worn it proudly for so long, and kept his baptismal initials R.H. as his middle name. Mr. Renaud lived in California for several years where he received his license as an insurance broker and opened his own business. He served many Pilipino families in his insurance business; however, he frequently spent time counseling them gratis. Still searching for his true niche in society, Peter moved back to Massachusetts in the early 80's to be close to his roots and family. He obtained his contractor's license in MA and began his own one-man construction business and here again frequently doing the work as favor to others. His response to those who told him he should be charging for his services was always, "I don't need much to live on". With so many talents, his family always dubbed him, "Jack of all trades master of none". Everything he did he was very successful at. However, nothing ever satisfied his thirst to serve.
Somewhere in the 80's he volunteered and fought to enter the Peace Corps. He was assigned to Niger, Africa, to assist in construction tasks. While there, true to his nature, he befriended a young African boy whom, with the financial help of the young man's uncle, brought him to the U.S. to complete his education. Due to his health, Peter was encouraged by the Peace Corps doctor to return to the U.S. Much to his disappointment, he did return and came to the Tampa, Florida, area to be close to his sister and brother-in-law, John and Rita Joyce. The young man from Niger accompanied him. Once established in Florida, Peter obtained his contractor's license as well as a Building Inspector's license. Peter continued in that field until he retired to Patrician Arms in Tampa. While at Patrician Arms, Peter became a member of the Knights of Columbus Council 667 and had hoped to receive his 4rd degree this coming year. Peter is survived by three sisters: Marguerite Beland of Pelham, NH, Jeannette Bjorkman and her husband Robert of Dracut, MA, and Rita Joyce of Riverview, Florida. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews who remember him fondly as attested to on Facebook. He was preceded in death by his parents, Louis and Yvonne Renaud, and his siblings Marcelle Bedard, Gertrude Bedard, Maurice "Frenchy" Renaud and Robert Renaud. During his illness, his sister Rita served as his Healthcare Surrogate as well as his legal guardian appointed by the Court of Pinellas County. A memorial service and Mass will be conducted at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Valrico, FL, on Saturday, April 21st at 10:00 AM. He will be interred at a later date along with his parents in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Lowell, MA.