Scott Rentz

Scott Rentz July 21, 1917 March 16, 2011 Scott Rentz of China Spring, Texas, passed away peacefully in a local hospital on March 16, 2011, at the age of 93 years and 8 months. Services will be 1:30 p.m., Saturday, March 19, at First Baptist Church of China Spring with the Rev. Mike Copeland officiating in coordination with Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home. Internment will follow at the China Spring Cemetery. Visitation will be 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Friday, March 18, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Garden Room. First Baptist Church of China Spring was one of the most important parts of Scott's personal life. He was baptized at the age of 42, and for the next 51 years he did not miss church services except for illness. Scott made a commitment to Christ. He believed it. He kept it. Scott married the love of his life, Neva Lee Jackson, on Friday, April 13, 1940, following a 3-year courtship, which included a "one year notice" to his mother that he was going "to marry that Jackson girl." His mother-in-law was quite superstitious and was very concerned about them getting married on Friday the 13th, but if they ever had an argument during their marriage, no one ever knew. Scott was born in the very house he lived in for his entire life, first growing as a boy, then in a farming partnership with his widowed mother following the death of his father in 1928, and finally assuming ownership of the farm after her death in 1967. Early farming activities consisted of farming with four mules. In 1941 he sold the mules and bought a brand new Model "B" John Deere tractor, only to find out much later that his mother disapproved because, after all, "They had those four good mules so why would he ever think of trading them for a tractor". The farm originally included a small dairy consisting of about 25 milk cows. However, in 1965 he proclaimed that he did not mind milking the cows for free, but that he was not willing to pay for the pleasure. By then he was a paving foreman for Downing Brothers Construction Company, a job that he dearly loved, that also offered a very good, regular paycheck. He worked for Downing Brothers for 28 years until his retirement in 1985. He and his crew had a part in paving so many of the roads and parking lots in the Waco area, and those that he did not work on he knew who did. Upon retirement, he again devoted his full attention to taking care of the farm that he had somewhat neglected during all of those years of paving roads. There were fences to mend, fence rows to be trimmed, and all of the other work that goes with maintaining an aging farm. Well into his 80's, he and Gene Dowel, his good friend, would labor long hours over several days harvesting his 20 acre wheat field with Gene's old, worn out combine and a borrowed, unlicensed grain truck. Scott was Gene's only grain harvesting customer. When asked why they went to such trouble, he would reply that it gave them something to talk about for the rest of the year, and it did. At the mature age of 88 he gave up operating the tractors and continued to operate the farm with the devoted assistance of Gene Sams. Finally, as his age dictated it, he allowed others to do the work that he so dearly loved to do himself. In 2007 Scott and his family were honored by the Texas Farm Family Heritage Program, a part of the Texas Department of Agriculture, for owning and operating a farm continuously for over 100 years 104 years at that time. The award was presented to him at the Texas State Capitol, following a BBQ luncheon on the capitol grounds. Scott was preceded in death by his parents, George Ward and Barbara Talbert Rentz; his wife of 56 years, Neva Lee Rentz; his brothers, Albert and W.E. "Dude" Rentz; and his sister, Rosamond Farmer. He is survived by his daughter, Susan Pigeon; and his son and daughter-in-law, Jack and Becky Rentz, all of Abilene; grandchildren, Ben and Blake Pigeon and Scott, Amy and Bailey Rentz. He is also survived by a whole host of friends, many of whom he often mentioned by name in the stories he told that countless folks loved to hear from days gone by. Pallbearers are Ben Pigeon, Blake Pigeon, Bailey Rentz, C.H. Farmer, Gene Sams and Scott Rentz. He will be missed by all, but in his own words about life in his last days, "I have had a good run at it, and if it is time to go, then, let it be sooner rather than later". In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorials be made to: Meals on Wheels-Waco, P.O. Box 85, Waco, TX 76703, First Baptist Church, 301 Illinois, China Spring, TX 76633, or the donor's charity of choice. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our "Memorial Guestbook" at www.WilkirsonHatchBailey.com.