Norma Renschler

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Norma Dean Renschler
December 24, 1924 - December 11, 2005
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Norma Dean Renschler, 80, of Waco, died Sunday morning, December 11, 2005 at her home.

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at the OakCrest Funeral Home with the Rev. Jack Mullins officiating.

Burial will follow in Oakwood Cemetery.

Visitation for family and friends will be from 4-7 p.m. on Tuesday at OakCrest Funeral Home at 4520 Bosque. A memorial video honoring her life will be shown during the visitation.

She was born December 24, 1924, in Waco, TX, to Lillian and Edward Dupre, from Waco. She grew up in Waco surrounded by three brothers, Robert, Fred, and Edward Dupre, who are deceased. Norma was the last living relative of the Ed Dupre family. She graduated from South Junior High School and attended the National Youth Administration Trade School in Waco.

She met her husband, Richard J. Renschler, Sr., in 1942, when he came to Waco to attend the U.S. Army's Waco Flying School. They courted and still remembered the Waco Cotton Palace as the hub of Waco activities, the Diamond Hamburger Café, as well as the Austin Avenue drag. They married on June 13, 1942, at the Waco Wedding Chapel on Elm Street and their union spanned 63 years of marriage.

They were in the 1953 Waco tornado, where both Norma, Richard, and their sons were at Renschler's on 8th Street and Franklin Avenue.

When Richard finished his Army stint, the two partnered and began the Renschler Radiator Shop in 1944. They had two sons, Richard J. Renschler, Jr. and Thomas Wayne Renschler, both who still reside in Waco and run the parent company, which is now Renschler's Automotive.

Norma was a homemaker and enjoyed doing things with and for family and friends. Her activities included being an avid bingo player, shopping, attending tent revivals and churches where Reverend G.P. Comer preached, and she loved pets of all kinds, especially poodles and horses.

She became a Christian and was baptized in her teens and later was a member of Beverly Hills Baptist Church. She also provided pre-school care for two of her grandchildren, Tierny and Kriste Renschler. In the 1960's she opened her own business, Waco Pet Grooming on 25th Street, which she ran while her sons were attending college.

Norma and Richard retired in 1969 from Renschler's, when Richard turned the business over to his sons. From that point forward, they did everything together. They loved trips to Las Vegas, South Dakota, and Louisiana, where they loved the bright lights and fun of Vegas, running Greyhound dogs, and especially enjoyed playing the slot machines.

Norma is survived by her beloved husband, Richard J. Renschler, Sr., and their two sons, Richie and Tommy. She also leaves behind her loving grandchildren, Tierny Renschler Krueger, of Woodway; Kriste Renschler Bogans, of San Diego, California; and Skyler Burleson Renschler, of Waco. Norma also leaves five adoring great grandchildren and two daughter-in-laws, Beverly Renschler and Dana Renschler of Waco.

Pallbearers will be present and past Renschler employees. Honorary Pallbearers are the members of the American Legion Post 121. Active pallbearers will be David Crutchfield, Berry Keenan, Len Hassell, Clint Kelly, Bryan Nicholson, and Tab Babb.

Honorary pallbearers will be Louis Miller, Wilbur Lessman, Leon Chaney, and Jim Weaver.


Memorials may be made to the American Legion Post 121 at N. 3rd and Tennessee.

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