James "Jim" Renda

1960 - 2021

James (Jim or CJ)Renda was born September 20, 1960 as the youngest child to Patsy Renda
& Geneva Renda (nee Rogolino).
Jim grew up in North Brunswick, New Jersey. As a child he was quite the entrepreneur. He
used his lunch money purchasing Tasty Kakes to sell to the school teachers for breakfast. After
doubling his investment he bought his lunch & purchased Corgi Cars, adding to his extensive
collection.
As a young boy, Jim travelled the country with his parents & sisters attending church
conferences and visiting a myriad of relatives.
He also took first place in racing his C5 Jeep for several years.
Jim attended Burr D. Coe Votech High School, training him for a career in electronics. In 1984,
he continued his education graduating from Southwest School of Electronics in Austin, TX.
In December of 1982, Jim began a 34 year long career with Lower Colorado River Authority
making lifelong friends. Those friendships led to the founding of Gulf Coast Bay Masters, the
annual fishing tournament in Rockport, TX which Jim helped run for 2 decades.
Jim was a member of the South Austin Bowling league & a regular at playing frisbee golf.
Jim married Mary Lee Smith(nee Robinson) May 1990.
Through the years, Jim & Mary spent time involved in Girl Scout outings, family functions,
camping with neighbors, fishing, Cub Scout projects, hunting & OHV riding Colorado Mountains,
South Dakota Black Hills & Oklahoma's Oachita National Forest.
Jim loved the detailed art of building custom fishing rods. He made over 40 custom rods for
friends & family as well as donating some for fundraisers at his daughter's schools.
Jim & Mary enjoyed evenings at the Austin Paramount, as well as the summertime
Shakespeare in The Park & Zilker Hillside Theatre. Jim was the consistent champion at
SCRABBLE in every family game.
They left Austin in 2011 for the country. Jim's happiest times have been surrounded by family
& friends & riding the hills in his OHV.
He is deeply missed for his adventurous spirit, devotion to family, and his unquestionably good
cooking skills; especially his lentil soup. He never followed a recipe completely and his meals
warmed the belly as well as the heart.
If he counted you as his friend, he would do anything for you. If you were his family, he would
go to the ends of the earth & fight to the death for you.
Jim left this earth on Sept. 17, 2021 after a lengthy and courageous battle with COVID-19. We
are forever grateful for the 900+ prayer warriors across the USA & Korea that daily lifted Jim in
prayer during his hospital stay.
Jim is preceded in death by his father, Patsy Renda & son, Patrick Lee Renda.
Jim leaves behind his wife & best friend of 31 years, Mary, as well as his loving daughters,
Regina Nation of Haughton, LA & Elisha Abundez(Sergio) of Round Rock, TX. He also leaves
his mother, Geneva Dell & sisters Sharon Rubio(Alberto) and Anna Moore(Harry), nephews,
nieces and adoring grandchildren Angela, Remi, Richard, Liana & Maya.

Celebration of life will be livestreamed and accessible via Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/taylorprovidence