North Star Port

Chuck Ilenda, who spent 46 years directing grain stevedoring in the Port of Duluth-Superior, died Aug. 1 in Duluth of cancer. He was 83. Born May 15, 1943, in Duluth to Felix and Ethel Ilenda, Chuck grew up in nearby Pike Lake, and earned the Eagle Scout rank at an early age, along with the Lutheran Church Pro Deo et Patria Award ("For God and Country"). In 1959, at 15, he presented on behalf of the Boy Scouts to Minnesota Gov. Orville L. Freeman. That same year, the North Star Council named him Outstanding Scout of the Year. He also served as senior crew leader of Sea Scout Ship No. 6, the Duluth Rotary-sponsored Corsair unit, under Skipper Jack Marrion. The crew's defining adventure came in June 1959, when Ilenda and 15 shipmates boarded the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Woodrush at Park Point in Duluth for a cruise to the Apostle Islands and Isle Royale. The Scouts, ages 14 to 17, mapped the ship's course and handled lines. They rowed a lifeboat into the Apostle Islands sea caves, refueled the offshore lights at Outer Island, Devils Island and Rock of Ages, and took turns at the helm of Woodrush. Ilenda graduated from Proctor High School in 1961, and at 19, he received the Quartermaster Award, the highest rank in Sea Scouting. His hand-crafted brass sextant earned special honors from Coast Guard Captain Gil Porter, who commanded the Woodrush, and it foreshadowed a lifetime commitment to excellence and craftsmanship. Ilenda attended Northwestern Prep School in Minneapolis and received an appointment to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York, earning a Navy commission and a third mate's license. In New York, he also met the love of his life, Veronica "Ronnie" Ford. They married in 1966, and Ilenda sailed as second mate for the Moore- McCormack Lines on the Baltic, South Africa and Far East runs before returning to Duluth and joining Ceres Terminals Inc. as a port manager in 1971. T h e c o u p l e ra i se d fi ve c h i l d re n while Ilenda worked long hours hiring l o n gs h o re m e n a n d ove rse e i n g t h e majority of Duluth- Superior's grain loadings. In his busiest year, during the Soviet grain trade era, his crews loaded 240 ships. Named a Ceres vice president in 2011, he retired in 2017 as the company's longest-tenured employee. At home, Ilenda worked side by s i d e w i t h h i s w i f e a n d c h i l d r e n , demonstrating a passion for family, woodworking, photography and art. He designed and built cabins and renovated houses, always to the high standard that became his trademark. "Chuck is a helluva guy — and a helluva friend," said the late Sven Hubner, longtime vessel agent and retired owner of Guthrie- Hubner Inc. "He's a professional; the most outstanding grain stevedore I've ever met." Ilenda is survived by his wife of nearly 60 years, Veronica; five children; five grandchildren; and five great- grandchildren. "My grandmother told me to always have at least 12 projects going at one time so you don't become stagnant," he said at his retirement. "I have fulfilled her requirements, so I think I will be able to keep going full ahead." 16 | NORTH STAR PORT | SUMMER 2026 PORT PASSINGS Charles "Chuck" Ilenda Chuck Ilenda and his Sea Scout crewmates climb aboard the U.S. Coast Guard vessel Woodrush for a three-day Lake Superior voyage in June 1959. Ilenda served as senior crew leader for the group of teens ages 14-17.

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