Lenora Elizabeth Going Rentfro

BROWNSVILLE, TX. – Lenora Going Rentfro entered the nearer presence of God on Tuesday, the 13th of September 2022. Born on August 29, 1924, she was the daughter of Lewis Bayard Going and Gladys Hollifield Going of Port Arthur, Texas.

Mrs. Rentfro graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur. She received a Bachelor of Arts in English from The University of Texas at Austin in 1945, graduating as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. While an undergraduate, she became a member of the Omega chapter of Alpha Phi Sorority. After two years teaching English at Woodrow Wilson Junior High in Port Arthur, she returned to UT Austin, where she received a master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling in 1948.

While in Austin studying for her master’s degree, she met her husband, Daniel L. Rentfro, a student at the law school. They married on January 28, 1950, established their home in Brownsville, and remained happily married until his death in 2007. During her many years of service to the young people of Brownsville, Mrs. Rentfro worked as a teacher at J.T. Canales Elementary School and Brownsville Junior High School, and as a counselor at Stell Junior High, Cummings Junior High, and Pace High School. As a high school counselor, recognizing the need for substance abuse counseling for teenagers in the community, she was one of the founders of the Palmer Drug Abuse Program (PDAP) in Brownsville.

After retiring from the Brownsville Independent School District in 1983, Mrs. Rentfro served as Director of the Episcopal Day School for another seven happy years. Throughout her long career in education, she impacted the lives of many young people, operating from her firm belief in their goodness and potential.

Mrs. Rentfro was an active member of the community and particularly of the Church of the Advent, Episcopal, where she served multiple times as a member of the Vestry, School Board, and Altar Guild. She and her husband, Dan, also compiled a history of the Church of the Advent, which she continued to update well into her nineties.

Predeceased by her parents, her husband, and her son, William L. Rentfro, she is survived by her daughter, Lindsay Rentfro Irwin; her son, Daniel L. Rentfro, Jr.; her daughter-in-law, Anne Rath Rentfro; and her four grandchildren: David Irwin (Andrea), William Irwin (Cynthia), Mark Rentfro (Amanda Morris), and Elizabeth Rentfro. During her latter years, her greatest joys were her five great-grandchildren: Alexander Irwin, Kyle Irwin, Ryan Rentfro, Billy Irwin, and Charlotte Irwin.

Her funeral service will be held at ten o’clock in the morning on Thursday, the 22nd of September 2022, at the Church of the Advent, Episcopal, 104 West Elizabeth Street, Brownsville, Texas 78520.

In lieu of floral arrangements and customary remembrances, her family suggests memorial gifts to Church of the Advent, Episcopal, 104 W. Elizabeth, Brownsville, Texas 78520 (adventepiscopal.org), or to the Episcopal Day School, 34 N. Coria Street, Brownsville, Texas 78520 (episcopaldayschool.net).

Memories of Mrs. Rentfro may be shared at www.darlingmouser.com.

Personalized funeral arrangements directed by Steven R. Hieu Bailey and Staff have been entrusted to the care of Darling-Mouser Funeral Home at 945 Palm Boulevard in Brownsville, Texas 78520, (956) 546-7111.