Dick Rentfro, 91 of Kittitas County

[Stan]

By MIKE JOHNSTON senior writer | 0 comments

As Connie Coleman of Thorp remembers it, there were few places her father, Pastor Dick Rentfro, could go in Kittitas County without being recognized and appreciated.

Likewise, there were few places and situations where Rentfro, a long-time retired Seventh-day Adventist church minister and Daily Record columnist, didn't reach out in a friendly, loving way to help someone.

"Many people did go up to him in stores and thank him for his column," Coleman said earlier this week about Rentfro. "Some would give him a kiss. When eating out, sometimes, someone would anonymously pay his bill. Community residents have called him and written to him. Some came out to see him and visit in his home."

Rentfro, who wrote a weekly religion column for the Daily Record since 1998, died Oct. 21. He was 91.

Coleman, who came with her husband to the Kittitas Valley in 1979 when her father moved here, said many people have shared with her what her dad's articles meant to them, and how they inspired them.

"He was once asked to go and bless a reader's home," Coleman said. "Another time, he was asked to do a memorial service for someone who had read his column."

Like a father

Gary Billingsley of Cle Elum, a close friend of Rentfro's, said he began accompanying him every sabbath day (Saturday in the Seventh-day Adventist faith) starting in 2006 on his personal visits to people in the community.

The visits took eight to nine hours after church.

Because of Rentfro's condition of congestive heart failure, he would tire easily and was, at times, unsteady on his feet and apt to fall, he said.

Yet Rentfro was committed to visit those who needed help, counsel, encouragement and understanding of God's word, Billingsly said.

"I came up to him and told him he wasn't going visiting without me," Billingsly said. "He needed help. He said yes and was a loving mentor who guided me in how to talk to people about faith in Christ. He was like a father to me."

Billingsly said Rentfro showed him by example not just how to talk about God's love, but how to love all kinds of people in actions.

Active

In looking back on Rentfro's life, grandson Paul Coleman of Grand Terrace, Calif., said his grandfather was a Christian minister and evangelist for 69 years. He served in churches in Nevada, California, Washington and British Columbia.

For the last 32 years, after retiring from evangelism, Rentfro continued to actively serve in the Cle Elum and Ellensburg Seventh-day Adventist churches. He also preached, visited people and led Bible studies throughout the communities of Kittitas County.

"Almost on a daily basis he would make a trip to the post office to mail letters of encouragement to a long list of names, even after making many phone calls to them which always included praying with them," Paul Coleman said.

His mailings included about 80 copies of his column sent monthly to people he knew.

Connie Coleman said Rentfro considered himself a sinner saved by grace alone.

"I would say that his most endearing quality was the way that he loved people, unconditionally," she said. "He had a heart of love and compassion for his fellow man. He liked to believe the best about people. He had faith in them. He was a real optimist. He always said ‘The best is yet to come.' He always had a strong passion for sharing Jesus with everyone he met. He had no greater joy than when he led someone to Jesus as their personal Savior."

Rentfro's funeral service is set for 11 a.m. Monday at Chestnut Street Baptist Church. S O U R C E

[olger]

Dick was a good man, and a friend.

(2 Timothy 4:8)

`g

[Dottie]

I will miss his letters in the Review. They were always positive and uplifting.