CHARLES KIMMERLE RENSENHOUSE

1925 - 2014

CHARLES KIMMERLE RENSENHOUSE Charles Kimmerle Rensenhouse passed away at the age of 89 on July 3, 2014, at Park Meadows Memory Care in Overland Park, KS. A celebration of his life will be held Friday, August 1, at 5:00pm at the Lake Quivira Sailing Dock, Lake Quivira, KS. Anyone who was touched in some way by the extraordinary spirit of this remarkable man is welcome to join the family in bidding him a loving farewell. Casual attire. Charles was born January 12,1925, in Cassopolis, MI, to Mary "Bonnie" and Proctor D. Rensenhouse. Along with his parents, he was preceded in death by two sisters, Annie (Haines) and Jean (Diman), as well as one brother, Proctor "Jim" (Rensen- house). In 1948 he fell in love with and married a beautiful young woman he met on a train and invited to play bridge with him. Her name was Beverly Ann Conway, and she too precedes him in death. Charles grew up in Scarsdale, NY (Westchester County), where his second-grade teacher recognized him as a "natural born leader" but had concerns that he was leading his peers in the wrong direction! Fortunately, the fears were unfounded as he grew to be the captain of the football team at Scarsdale High School and went on to get an engineering degree from the University of Southern California. His family would summer at a home in Birch Lake, MI, and it was on a train back to school at USC that he met his future bride. Upon graduation, he went to work for General Electric in Schenectady, NY, but was soon lured away by Essex Wire to supervise, at age 29, a factory in Sycamore, IL, that employed 351 people. His brother, Jim, had gone to Kansas City to run a wholesale electrical supply company and soon called Charles for some help. He moved the family to Prairie Village, KS, and, with his brother, acquired both Rossner Electric Supply in Kansas City, MO, and Foley Electric Supply in Kansas City, KS. Charles took charge of the Foley location and, out of that store in 1963, started the retail business, RensenHouse of Lights, which remains in operation to this day. The two wholesale companies were eventually consolidated into the larger Rensenhouse Electric Supply and it, too, remains in operation to this day. Always an avid sportsman and lover of the great outdoors, Charles built a home for his family at Lake Quivira, KS, in 1961. He served as Lake Quivira's Board President for a number of years and spearheaded the decision to resist annexation attempts by Shawnee and declare itself an independent city. The venerable old clubhouse there still stands today in large part due to his efforts. While at Lake Quivira, he was very active with the Sailing Club, sailing a Y-Flyer, and would compete at national regattas in that class. His tenacity in the face of high winds earned him the nickname "Hurricane Charlie," and he sailed his best when the conditions were most challenging. He was also an avid golfer, a sport that would serve him well, long into his life. He played at courses all over the world and enjoyed the (self-given) nickname of "World's Greatest Putter!". Once in a while, the name actually rang true. Charles retired in 1985 and, with his wife Beverly, began spending time in various locales, always somewhere unique. He first built a summer home near Buena Vista, CO, on Chalk Creek, next to a natural hot springs that filled the swimming pool. Then came a house overlooking the dramatic landscape of the Anza-Borrego Desert in Borrego Springs, CA, where they spent many happy winters, golfing and socializing with other retirees. And, finally, another home in Bend, OR, where they enjoyed the perfect summer temperatures of the high desert. After the death of his wife, Beverly, he returned to the Kansas City area and was always a favorite within the caring communities where he lived. "How you doin', Charlie?" "Horrible!" he would say, with a twinkle in his eyes. He is survived by three children, Nancy Nixon (John) of Ouray, CO; Sharon Rensenhouse (Nelson Mann) of Lake Quivira, KS; John Rensenhouse (Darren Sextro) of Kansas City, MO; and three grandchildren, Carrie Hickman (Paul) of Madison, WI; Christopher Nixon (Amy) of Overland Park, KS; Kyle Rensenhouse of Kansas City, MO; and one great-granddaughter, Stella Nixon of Overland Park, KS. If you wish to make a contribution in his honor, please direct it to either Kansas City Actors Theatre, P.O. Box 22510, Kansas City, MO 64113, where his son works, or the Wright Opera House, P.O. Box 17, Ouray, CO 81427, where a daughter's passion lies. He will be missed. Deeply. We write this in the hope these words can last as a testament to his delight in and upon this earth.