Patricia Ruth Rentz

She died on September 15, 2020 in Salt Lake City, UT. She was born on February 5, 1938 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was married to the love of her life, Richard, for 52 years. They had three wonderful children. She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard, and is survived by her children, Jeffrey (Jenny), Wingate, NC; Nicole, Murray; and Heather (Zeb) Rentz-Bjorge, Holladay; four grandchildren, Jessica, Jack, Jane, and Luna. She loved greatly and was greatly loved.
Pat was a loving daughter, granddaughter, mother, grandmother, sister-in-law, and friend. She was a mama-bear, before that title existed. She loved fiercely and you always knew when she was on your side. Mom wanted our home to be the place where everyone gathered. As a result, so many in our lives considered her their second mom.
She endeavored to be the cool mom, from letting us turn up Jeff’s G N’ R tape in the car and singing along, to keeping up with technology, embracing the internet, smartphones, and iPads, to sitting around chatting with us and our friends.
She loved a good conversation and would spend hours on the phone or over a meal with family, friends, or home health workers whenever she had the opportunity.
Both Mom and Dad instilled in their children a civic responsibility, often taking us along into the voting booth and introducing us to campaign volunteering. Current events were always a part of dinner conversations.
Mom was a great storyteller often weaving tales about a relative locked in our attic, or that she had sailed with Christopher Columbus, and had later been adopted by the Chippewa Indians, all which her children and their friends believed.
She took all three of her children to a Willie Nelson concert in the early 80’s, fostering a love for live music in all three.
Our mom was an avid reader and could speed read, often reading a novel a day. From Harry Potter to Dean Koontz, all the classics, and everything in-between, she loved them all. As her eyesight failed her, her Kindle kept her reading.
Through the years, she and our dad spent much of their free time working in tandem, crafting woodwork, stained glass, and later soapmaking.
She developed a love for colorful shoes, and red shoes were her favorite.
Mom has always loved animals; she spent a large part of her childhood growing up on her grandparent’s small farm in Wisconsin. She had her first dog “Tippy” while she lived there. She was preceded in death by many beloved pets, who we know she would want mentioned, especially “Trouble”, “E.T.”, “Kitty-Kitty”, and “Blaze”.
She was a most excellent Grandma. She loved baking, crafting, and shopping with her grandchildren. With her loss of mobility, she changed things up a bit with her youngest grandchild and often played music for her, let her play on her iPad, and spent countless hours drawing with her.
Mom was a fighter, through many years of injuries, surgeries, and illnesses, she fought to continue to be with her family. Last weekend, she was hit with an acute infection that she was not able to recover from and we felt it was finally time for her to rest.
The world lost an amazing woman on September 15th.
All parking lot light poles are now a little safer.
Please join us for an informal celebration in her honor on Saturday, September 26th 1pm-3pm at Big Cottonwood Regional Park– Creekside Park Pavilion, 1592 E. Murray Holladay Rd., Holladay, UT 84117. Social distancing and face coverings are requested. In lieu of flowers, Mom would want you to remember to vote on November 3rd.
Service Information

Celebration of Life
September 26, 2020 at 1:00-3:00 PM
1592 East Murray Holladay Road, Holladay, Utah 84117 - Cottonwood Regional Park-Creekside Park Pavilion