Posted on October 28th, 2026
Charles was born on a chicken farm in the Catskill Mountains and then grew up in Miami, Florida. He was a proud graduate of Brandeis University where he made lifelong friends, developed a critical mind, and found his life partner, Myra. Immediately after graduation, as the Vietnam War raged, he and Myra departed for Toronto where Charles attended graduate school in sociology.
Charles and Myra witnessed their new home turn from a sleepy city into a bustling multicultural metropolis. Charles worked as a secondary school teacher and basketball coach in Port Credit and the borough of York. He liked to say that his life was co-terminus with the NBA, which also began in 1946. When he left teaching, he worked at the Cross Cultural Communications Centre and then became Coordinator of the School Community Relations Department of the Toronto Board of Education. After a stint at City Hall, he established a private consulting firm, Charles Novogrodsky and Associates, specializing in human rights, harassment prevention, and workplace equity.
Charles found immense satisfaction in the volunteer sector. He served as President of the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre and as Co-President of the Brandeis University Alumni Club of Toronto. After retirement, Myra and Charles spent part of 20 winters in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where he was a founder and President of Amistad Canada, an organization which supports Mexican projects that are health, education or social justice related.
His interests were many. He was a voracious reader and knowledgeable baseball and basketball fan. With his lecture Jews and Baseball he raised funds for many of his favourite charities. He and Myra were avid cyclists and biked in many places including New Zealand, Greece, Italy and Portugal. As an adult, he studied and became a competent speaker of both Hebrew and Spanish. His life was filled with books, theatre, film, art and music. He was never interested in fame but was intensely interested in human beings. Even in his last week, Charles, ever the teacher, told the radiation technologists the story of Marie Curie.
The greatest light in his life came from his family. He and Myra celebrated over 59 years of marriage. He was the proud and loving father of Noah Novogrodsky (Isadora Helfgott) and Tobias Novogrodsky (Tessa Colthoff). In his final days he spoke to his five grandchildren — Ruby, David, Boaz, Asher, and Levi – to tell them he loved them and what each of them gave to him. His extended family and network of friends also mourn the passing of this most curious, loving, and wise man.
Memorial donations may be made to:
Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, www.mnjcc.org
Amistad Canada, the Jovenes Adelante Project, where a scholarship will be set up in his name.
Brandeis Canada Scholarship Fund, https://alumni.brandeis.edu/
