HOLMES BEACH – Resident Dr. André Renard passed away on Nov. 22 at the age of 82.
Renard, a plastic surgeon, was married to former Manatee County Commissioner and former Holmes Beach Mayor Carol Whitmore. He passed away at the couple’s home in Holmes Beach, where they were married and lived together for 29 years.
“He died of complications due to Parkinson’s disease,” Whitmore said.
Renard was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2012 and he retired from his medical practice in 2014.
Whitmore is a registered nurse and she helped care for Renard when his health began to fail.
“He was bedridden for the past month and a half or so and required total care. I promised him he would never get a bedsore and he didn’t,” she said.
A love story
Renard and Whitmore got married in 1994.
“We met at a party in Holmes Beach and my girlfriend that I went with met her future husband that same night,” Whitmore said.
“André loved art and polo. He was a self-trained artist who never had an art lesson. He played polo all over the world before I met him. He was born and raised in Belgium. He was a general practitioner in Belgium for five years. He then came to America and did a residency in plastic surgery in Jacksonville. Polo is what brought him to this area. He drove down from Jacksonville because he heard there was a polo field in Sarasota. I met him about seven months after he started practicing medicine in St. Petersburg, but he wanted to be closer to the polo field in Sarasota. When we first met, he was offered a job in Brussels, Belgium, but he didn’t want to leave me or this area,” Whitmore said.
“Our marriage worked well. He worked a lot and I was busy being a nurse, a mayor and a county commissioner. I’m a type-A personality. I’m not always easy to get along with and he could always bring me back down to Earth. We had a good relationship because we understood each other,” Whitmore said.
Whitmore has a daughter, Janae Rudacille, from a previous marriage.
When asked about Renard, Rudacille said, “He was an incredible stepfather. He was supportive and helpful in anything I did. He was kind and passionate and funny. He gave back to people who were less fortunate and he would treat patients who didn’t have money or insurance.”
Renard is also survived by two daughters and a son from a previous marriage.
Medical practice
Renard practiced medicine in Manatee County and Sarasota County and performed surgeries at Blake Medical Center, Sarasota Memorial Hospital and other local hospitals.
“On Oct. 30, the Manatee County Medical Society recognized André during their annual gathering and Janae and I went on his behalf,” Whitmore said. “He was among the first surgeons in Florida doing micro-surgery thumb transplants in Jacksonville in the 1980s. He also spearheaded the transgender surgery team in Jacksonville. He helped convince Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s radiology department to start doing sentinel node biopsies for breast cancer patients back when you used to have to go to Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa for that.”
“He was a fierce supporter of COVID precautions and totally believed in infection control. He had tuberculosis when he was 8 years old. They isolated him and his parents sent him to a castle in Switzerland. The castle was full of kids who had been exposed to TB and he stayed there for a year. He said it was wonderful. He went to school and skied all the time,” Whitmore said.
Renaissance man
“André was a respected physician. He was nice to everyone. He was well-educated and spoke four or five different languages,” Whitmore said. “He was a Renaissance man. He was into the art of the old masters and he was also into pop art. He was 14 years older than me. Unlike me, he was very worldly in terms of traveling. He opened up a whole new world for me. His art was really wild and people were surprised that it came from someone his age. He was also the cover editor for the Florida Medical Journal for a few years. He drew the magazine covers.”
Renard’s art was featured in a New York art expo in August 2014. In December 2014, Renard’s “cuts and brushes” exhibit was featured at The Studio at Gulf and Pine in Anna Maria, which at the time was owned by the late Rhea Chiles.
The gallery is now owned by Rhea’s son, Ed Chiles, who said, “André was a unique person – a great doctor, a very talented artist and someone you loved being around. He was one of the individuals that makes our Island and our community a special place. It was difficult to watch him go through the health challenges he faced in his last years and Carol was selfless in her support of him.”
Renard’s art can be viewed on Facebook at André Renard Art.
On Monday, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott called Whitmore and offered his condolences.
That same day, Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie said, “André was a super guy. He was such a kind man and an amazing artist and surgeon. Carol and André were a perfect match. They complimented each other and they both gave back to the community. André was one of those amazing people that you’re lucky to run into in your lifetime.”
Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy said, “Not only was André a talented physician, but he was also an incredible artist. My prayers are with Carol. Her dedication to André over the years serves as an inspiration to all married couples.”
The family hopes to host a celebration of life at the polo grounds in Lakewood Ranch but those plans are still being finalized.
