Obituary for William “Bill” Rennie

Ponca City Now - March 7, 2020 2:33 pm

William Rennie

January 4, 1942 – March 3, 2020

William Jack “Bill” Rennie, born in Ponca City and long-time resident, died Tuesday, March 3, 2020 at the age of 78. A celebration of life will be held on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at 11 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church of Ponca City. Arrangements are under the direction of Trout Funeral Home & Crematory.

A man with a love of good-natured mischief he inherited from his father, Bill always had a glint in his eye that exposed his eagerness to share a full-bodied laugh. And, like his sister, he loved to meet people and keep friends for a lifetime. For Bill and his sister, there were no strangers; just people they hadn’t met yet or a story that they hadn’t heard. Beyond that, what really made him smile was his beloved Atlanta Braves. Bill lived in Atlanta when they won the World Series and he always enjoyed taking in a game. After returning to Ponca City, he made sure he was able to catch them on cable at every chance.

Bill graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. While there, he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, where he made lifelong friends and created countless memories. Those memories gave him a lifetime of entertaining stories of their exploits. Soon after graduating, he met and married his wife Ruth. Until her death in 2018, their immediate family was always Bill, Ruth, and two dogs.

Bill was a creative chef and talented artist. As he moved through his career between Tulsa, Kansas City, Atlanta and finally back to Ponca City, he mixed both passions. At one point in his career, he worked inside the walk-in cooler of the country club for hours on end to carve biblical figures out of chocolate for Bas and Bar Mitzvahs. He cherished ending his career in Ponca City where he worked as a chef at the AllianceHealth Ponca City hospital, close to friends and family, including the numerous cousins living in Ponca City and across Oklahoma who were a constant presence.

The First United Methodist Church of Ponca City was a part of Bill’s life as long as he was in Ponca City. In later years, it was where he spent quality one-on-one time with his mother. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the church for a memorial in his name.

Survivors include three nephews, Chris Schein and his wife Nancy of Plano, Texas; Scott Schein and his wife Kim of Broken Arrow; and Matt Schein of Oklahoma City; their children, Madison Schein, Trent Schein, Brett Schein; Austin Schein, Tyler Schein, Kate Schein, and Andrew Schein; brother-in-law Robert Schein of Tulsa; sister-in-law Charlotte Gravitt, of North Carolina; sister-in-law Gloria Olis, of Missouri; and brother-in-law James Kean, of Texas. He was preceded in death by his parents, Gilbert and Roberta Rennie, of Ponca City; his sister, Dora E. Schein, of Tulsa; and his wife, Ruth Rennie.

Source: Trout Funeral Home