Lalla Vincent Rentz

Mrs. Lalla Vincent Rentz, 89, of Varnville SC, Asheboro NC, Salfords, Surrey, England, Louisville KY, and Laurel MS, passed away Monday, April 2, 2018, after living five years with a congestive heart condition.

Lalla was born May 3, 1928 in Statesville, NC, the daughter of Hugh Edward Vincent and Louise Lawton Vincent.  At 3 years old, she moved to Varnville SC, her beloved hometown.  She graduated from Varnville High School and attended the University of South Carolina.  Since 1947 she had been very happily married (71 years) to John Clifton Rentz of Varnville.  Together they created a loving family including John Harrell Rentz (Eric Hyman) of Holly Springs NC and Silver Spring MD, Fay Rentz (Cindy Sanner) of Chicago IL, Cynthia Rentz Falgout of Durham NC, Helen Rentz (Sue Fisher) of Apex NC, and Lydia Rentz Whitley (Bryan) of Greensboro NC.  Lalla is also survived by three grandchildren, Steven Harrell Rentz (Jamie Garzia) of Arlington VA, Hannah Elizabeth Falgout of Durham NC, and Mary Katherine Falgout of Durham NC.

Lalla was predeceased by her father and mother, as well as five older siblings and their spouses, Helen Brawley (Allen), Thomas Lawton Vincent (Lib), Louise Hallman (JW), Elizabeth Hanna Harper (Walton), and Hugh Edward Vincent, Jr. (Edith).

In the Varnville High School Class of 1945, she was Valedictorian and Captain of the basketball team.  She worked to support her family at Plywood Plastics Company and the Agricultural Department in Hampton SC until her husband finished Clemson College.  After that, she worked enthusiastically and tirelessly to create loving and welcoming homes for her family and friends.  The hymn Others , a favorite of her mother-in-law, truly expresses the essence of her life.  At the First Baptist Church in Asheboro NC, she became the youngest church member ever elected to the Diaconate (at that time).  When her husband John accepted a position in Surrey, England, she single-handedly moved herself and four children (the youngest, 6 months old) from Asheboro NC to Salfords, Surrey, England.  After three years in Louisville KY, she moved her family to Laurel MS.  In Laurel, where she lived for 36 years, she served as Docent for the Lauren Rogers Museum, a member of the Town and Country Garden Club, and a volunteer for Community Concerts.  She taught many Sunday School classes over many years.

Lalla ("Mom", "Granny", "Aunt Lalla", "Merry Sunshine") will long be remembered for her beautiful smile and her sound advice, patience, loyalty, and wisdom, as well as her deep, all-inclusive faith and her life-long love for her "precious angel" John whom she first met when she was three years old.

Graveside funeral services will be conducted at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 7, 2018 at Varnville Cemetery.  Beginning at 1:00 p.m. family and friends are invited to visit with the Rentz children and grandchildren at Peeples-Rhoden Funeral Home, 300 Mulberry Street West, Hampton SC 29924.

Memorials may be made to Hospice of Randolph County (Asheboro NC) or Varnville Cemetery Association (P.O. Box 366 Varnville SC) in honor of good friend Frank McClure.