Robert E. Render

Robert Earl Render passed away peacefully at home on the morning of January 23, 2014. The son of Thomas and Betty (Lynch) Render, Bob was born September 10, 1929 in Detroit, Michigan.
From the beginning, everyone saw a spark in the man who got his start gluing labels on glass bottles in the 1940s for SnoBol. Bob's father, a chemist, had invented the first liquid toilet bowl cleaner in the garage of their house in Pontiac, MI.
Once old enough, the young entrepreneur went door-to-door carrying copper pennies in his pockets. At the thresholds of the houses he visited, Bob would gather one of the pennies in his palm, adding a drop of the liquid cleanser to demonstrate the cleaning efficacy and safety of the home-brewed concoction.
By 1952, Bob was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for SnoBol. With this, his interest in the workings of his father's growing company merged with a desire to found his own.
In 1957, Bob founded Render Associates, a lawn and garden company. After merging with Anderson Peat Company, Bob became president of the conglomerate in 1969. During his lifetime, Bob served as President and CEO for the Hyponex Corporation and eventually President of Green Thumb Companies and Millburn Peat Company in Indiana, where he was known for his generosity and kindness. In his later years, he served as a Director for Zion Oil and Gas.
Working with soil, peat, and liquid toilet bowl cleanser, Bob had a saying he shared among friends, “Our family is number one in the number two business.”
Never fully retiring, Bob pursued trading stocks and developed a keen sense of the market. He enjoyed spending time with family and friends, and each year watching the Tigers inch closer to a World Series win.
In his final days, he told family he would be watching out for them from the other side. And for those who knew him, there is no doubt. His love of faith and family shown as new and bright as the glint of sunlight off a shiny copper penny. Bob was a devout member of the Evangelical Free Church in Gaylord.
Bob is survived by a daughter Pamela (Thomas) Dennehy, and step-children Deborah Tenerelli, Kathryn Watkins, Nicholas (Tina) Tenerelli, Angela (Ken) Hedrick, Michael (Kathy) Tenerelli, Jeana (Matthew) Malone, and Thomas (Lorie) Tenerelli, two granddaughters, and 17 step-grandchildren, along with several great-grandchildren, a brother, Harvey (Mary) Render and his fiancée, Joan Skarvi. He is preceded in death by his parents, brothers Fred and David Render, his first wife Lucy, second wife Carole, and son, Craig.
Funeral services for Bob will be held at 4:00 P.M. on Sunday, January 26, 2014 at the Gaylord Evangelical Free Church, 1649 East M-32 where visitation will begin at 2:00 P.M. Those who wish may make memorial contributions to The Refuge (a shelter for the homeless) with checks to Mount Hope Church (indicate The Refuge on memo line) thorough Gaylord Community Funeral Home, P.O. Box 249, Gaylord, MI 49734. Please share your memories and personal messages with the family at www.gaylordfuneralhome.com

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