Biography
“Dans un sommeil que charmait ton image, je revais le bonheur, ardent mirage…”
Patricia Polansky
polansky@hawaii.edu
(808) 956-6308
Gerard Rene-Andre Chapuis was born the youngest of three children on February 27, 1932 in Chambéry (Savoie), France. He attended the University of Dijon in 1952. In October 1952, he voluntarily joined the French Army to serve as a sergeant and was stationed in Germany until discharged in October 1955.
In November 1955, he traveled to Caracas, Venezuela. He worked as secretary general to the Venezuelan-French Cultural Institute and secretary to the French cultural attaché until July 1960. While in Venezuela he had the chance to visit Colombia, countries in Central America (Costa Rica and Panama), and the Caribbean (Guadeloupe, Martinique and others).
After that Mr. Chapuis went back to France and stayed there for three months before migrating to North America. In October 1960, he arrived in Toronto, Canada and stayed there until September 1961. On September 4, 1961, he came to the United States and lived in New York City but soon moved to Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. It is Hawaiʻi that he eventually called home and spent the rest of his life. He became an American citizen.
After moving to Hawaiʻi Mr. Chapuis worked as an assistant manager at the Oahu Country Club (October 1961-1967).
In 1967, he enrolled at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. In 1969, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics. He had been on the Dean’s list throughout his undergraduate years and graduated with high honors. In 1974, he received his master of arts degree in French.
During the period of 1973-1974, he also served as an instructor in the UH Department of European languages teaching French courses 101,102, 202 and 207.
While as a student at UH, he founded the Village East Film Society in 1968 and the Foreign Film Society in 1971. Films were shown twice a week (mostly on Fridays and Saturdays). Mr. Chapuis was among the first to provide a regular venue (at UH campus) for showing foreign films in Hawaiʻi. Initially he selected mainly European and Asian films but later some American films were also included. He left behind a large collection of film catalogs, flyers and correspondence with film distributors especially those in New York City, as well as detailed listings of all the films he showed from 1979 through 1993.
Mr. Chapuis taught level 1 and 2 French at the Kaimuki Community School for Adults until his passing. He was an avid reader of the New York Times. He also liked reading about world religions, including Christian, Buddhist, and Chinese religions, as well as history, with a special interest in the World War II period.
Mr. Chapuis may not have been a cat lover until sometime in the 80s, when he decided to take care of stray cats at UH campus. He was a familiar face around Bilger Hall where he placed himself in charge of around 100 cats. These creatures were at the center of his daily life and he took good care of them until his death in November 2009.
