Chuck hadn’t been on the air in the Capital since the mid 70’s, but he is fondly remembered by the sports community and the broadcasters who worked with him.
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The sad details are laid out in his Obituary prepared by the family and published in the Times Colonist.
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MUDRAK, Charles August 26, 1934 – February 1, 2017
The family is saddened to announce the peaceful passing of Charles at the Royal Jubilee Hospital. He will be dearly missed by his children Catherine, Jonathan (Caroline) and Sherry; grandchildren Brittney, Brodie, Courtney, Kyla, Emile and Eden; brother Victor and sisters Olga and Pauline in Vancouver. Charles started working in Dawson Creek as a sports announcer and ended his radio career at C-Fax in Victoria. He retired from the postal branch of the Provincial Government. No Funeral as requested by Charles. To offer a condolences please visit www.earthsoption.com
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– See more: HERE
Chuck was the first Sports Director I ever met, when I started at CFAX in 1968. He was a delight. He warmed up every room he walked into – he loved his Family and was great to be around.
I liked and admired him, very much.
My sincere condolences to his Family, his many friends and hundreds of co-workers over the years.
Chuck was on the C-FAX team when I moved to Victoria. A nice man. There’s a funny, funny tape around of Chuck’s reports from a World’s Softball Championship game from a small American town. Imagine softball was so popular (“The Bates”) that we carried full coverage! The tape contains Chuck’s live reports. He got the scores wrong….and the innings wrong too. He had the Bates ahead 3-2. The next inning he had them behind 2-0. And so it went throughout the broadcast. Chuck never remembered the total confusion in his reports. We never knew the correct score or who won!
Mel Cooper
Former C-FAX Owner
Wondered where Chuck had gone to. Glad I was able to have a long talk with him a few months ago. And another old broadcaster goes to his rewards…… Peace my old friend…..
It has been over 5 months since my dad passed away and I feel like it was just yesterday. I never realized the pain and loss would hurt so much. He was a very loving,articulate,kind and spiritual man. His love for me and his family was unconditional as was his joy from so many loving friends.Thank you to everyone that recognized my Dads love for wlife and his passion and endless love and respect he gave me .Dad as you always said Too be good. My respect and love for my Dad is endless and I can’t wait for us to be together again. Love you daddy Catherine xo
Dear Eddy Lee, this is Chuck’s daughter Catherine Magee . Thank you for your accurate memories of my father. I’m so glad to read memories that remind me of how much l love and appreciate my loving father. He was a loving man that only wanted his friends and family to be loved, respected and trusted. He had the Largest heart and only wanted the best for everyone. He never had a negative thing to say about anyone. He was a honest Loving Man. He is truly missed, but never forgotten! Love ❤️ you always Papa and Dad!
I got to know Chuck travelling back and forth between Victoria and Vancouver every weekend starting in the early 1980’s and continuing for many years after that. He was with the Provincial Post Office, and I was with Canada Post. We had met on the ferry/bus by accident, but I enjoyed his company very much on those sometimes lonely trips, particularly on Sunday nights, when we each left our families in Victoria heading back to the big city to work there another week.
I first remembered Chuck when I was 10 years old listening to his play by play on CKDA broadcasting on the Victoria Maple Leafs when they won the Lester Patrick Trophy winners of the Western Hockey League. (Professional League on equal footing to American Hockey League at that time). He told me when the NHL expanded in 1967, the expansion Oakland Seals offered him to call their games, but he could not leave his family and turned down the opportunity. Later, he did call the home games for the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday nights when the Kings played at home. The Kings actually flew him from Victoria to Los Angeles to do each game.
He told me a touching story one time about how he got together with Jean Beliveau in Victoria when Jean was releasing his new book there. He told Jean that his son was a fan of hockey, so Jean insisted on meeting him. The two went to Chuck’s home to wait for the boy to come home for lunch from school, but unfortunately on that day Chuck’s son decided to play at school that lunch hour.
I got married toward the end of the century and started a new family in Vancouver and so made fewer trips on the ferry. I must have last saw Chuck around this time, but always wondered how he was doing.
I am glad he spend his last years with the family that he love very much. And I am grateful for having the opportunity to have known him.
Eddy.