Ethel Clairice Chilton Rentfro was born February 13, 1933, in Marlin, Texas to Albert "Chub" and Ethel Stuart "Gran" Chilton.
Ethel attended Marlin High School where she met the love of her life, John Rentfro. After high school, the couple attended Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, and they were married June 2, 1951. Upon graduation, they moved to the Dallas area where Ethel taught school while John completed seminary at Southern Methodist University. For the next 41 years, Ethel and John were led across the state of Texas, cultivating interesting experiences and valued friendships every step of the way. They were blessed with four boys of their own, but Ethel extended love and support to every child she encountered. She acted as a surrogate mother to children in their church as well as to those on her sons' sports teams.
Ethel was described as "a force for goodwill in our Oak Cliff neighborhood"; she was a woman who shared life lessons and exuded positivity with the intent to shape the lives of so many across the State of Texas. She was incapable of meeting a stranger as any stranger became a friend before too long.
In addition to her servant's heart, Ethel also had a passion for reading and learning. In the 1970s, Ethel created her own business, becoming a renowned book reviewer in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and throughout the State. Through this entrepreneurial endeavor, Ethel was able to fund her sons as they earned college educations, but her passion for sharing the love of a good book was the heart of her venture.
In 1970, John and Ethel bought a lot on Lake Belton in central Texas. Together with their sons, Cal, Greg, and Joe, they built a small lake house which became the family's vacation spot (a.k.a. Solla Sollew) and their future retirement home. In the mid 1990s, shortly after John 's retirement from the United Methodist ministry, the couple moved permanently to the lake house where Ethel took care of John throughout his battle with Alzheimer's until his death in 2007. She remained at the lake, living independently in the home she and John built, until her passing on May 25, 2021.
Ethel was preceded in death by her son, Zachary, her husband, John, and her brother, Stuart. She is survived by her three sons and by her daughters-in-law, Cal and Janet Rentfro, Greg and Jody Rentfro, and Joe and Stephanie Rentfro, by her nephew, Brad Chilton and his wife Carol, and by her six grandchildren and two grandsons-in-law Adam Shorter and Heather Rentfro Shorter, Jordan Raschke and Brittney Rentfro Raschke, Tyler Rentfro, Jonathan Rentfro, Everett Rentfro, Lila Rentfro, and by her great granddaughter, Rylan Shorter.
She will be laid to rest in Marlin, Texas on June 2, 2021, next to her husband, John. This day would have been her 70th wedding anniversary.
Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 in the morning June 2, 2021, at First United Methodist Church, Marlin, Texas. Graveside service will follow at Calvary Cemetery in Marlin, Texas.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking donations be made to The Methodist Children's Home in Waco, Texas as this is a foundation John and Ethel began supporting more than 50 years ago.