Gregory Renner

(LIVE STREAMING WINDOW BELOW)

Renner, Gregory J, age 66 of Corcoran, formerly of Valencia, CA.

Passed away on January 26, 2022 surrounded by his family, after a courageous battle with Covid.

Preceded in death by beloved wife, Laura, parents, Roman and Trudy Renner.

Survived by daughter, Ashley, sisters, Therese (Paul) Hetchler, Mary Renner, Steff (Dave) Hetchler, Anne (Jerry) Sipe, Monie (Steve) Anderson, many nieces and nephews, and many other relatives and friends.

We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to all the staff at North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale for all the devoted care and personal attention given to Greg during his 2 1/2-month battle with Covid. Your dedication and commitment to caring for Greg was appreciated more than you know.  Words cannot truly express our sincere appreciation and gratitude.

If you were to ask people, “What are some of the things that you remember about Greg?”, most all would reply, “His laugh!”

He had a very distinctive laugh, and quite often it was contagious.  People would laugh just hearing Greg laugh without even knowing what was so funny.

He loved people and he loved to talk (and talk, and talk, and talk). He had a wonderful sense of humor.  He was so animated when he was telling a story too.

He had a great smile!

Greg grew up in a family of five sisters.  Once, when he went to visit our parents in Arizona, our mom called out to our dad upon seeing Greg get off the plane, “Look!  It’s The Renner Boy!”  Our mom had suffered a stroke years earlier and on that day, could not remember the name of her only son.  From that day on, Greg was often referred to as THE RENNER BOY.

Greg was competitive, and not just in sports.  He loved to win. It didn’t matter if we were playing Monopoly, The Game of Life, or Trouble.  He especially enjoyed games of strategy, mostly Chess and Risk. His ego was a bit bruised when he lost, especially to a younger opponent.

He loved the ocean.  He especially loved it when family came out to visit him and Laura in California.  He loved all dogs, big and little, pure bred or mutt. He enjoyed working in his gardens, growing and caring for different plants and flowers. He loved the Vikings, even after living in California for almost 40 years. He never gave up on them, even when they had a dismal season, and they had a lot of those.  He was a respected and decorated officer and sergeant of the LAPD. He loved his days as a motorcycle cop in Hollywood and working vice. He was a 4th Degree member of Knights of Columbus.

He had a generous heart.  He enjoyed giving gifts, especially at Christmas, and was always willing to help those who were less fortunate. He and Laura opened their homes to care for children from other countries who desperately needed medical attention. They were both very dedicated and devoted to Healing The Children. Their foster daughter, Ninfa became a big part of our family.

Greg loved to entertain, cook, and grill.  He was a master chef. The problem with Greg was that he would spend more time just getting ready to eat the food than he would spend time preparing the food and eating it.  When we were kids, every Saturday night during the summer, our dad would grill hamburgers for dinner. Each of us would fix our own hamburgers to our liking and then proceed to eat them. But this was not the case with Greg.  He was so meticulous; he would spend 20 minutes just preparing his burger.  Everything had to be “just so”.  By the time he was ready to take his first bite, we had all finished eating and were exiting the kitchen, and there would be Greg, sitting there, admiring his masterpiece.  He eventually did eat it.  It’s hard to look at a hamburger without thinking about Greg.

Greg was also known to enjoy a cocktail, or two, (or three +) and he liked his cocktails “neat”. He also enjoyed an occasional cigar with friends and family. Family was so very important to Greg. He loved all his five sisters, their spouses, his many nieces and nephews, and all of his cousins.  We (sisters) would always say that Greg was our favorite brother, but Greg was a diplomat. He never said which one of us was his favorite sister.  He made each of us feel special, and we each had our own special relationship with him.  More than anything, he loved being a father to his beautiful daughter, Ashley. He was always so proud of her and loved sharing stories about her with us. He was devoted to his beloved wife, Laura.  He grieved for her after her passing and longed to be reunited with her.  There is now a big hole in our family. We are all deeply saddened, and our hearts are broken. We will no longer hear his laugh, or see his smile, or feel his loving arms around us. We take comfort knowing that he and Laura are once again together, and he is no longer suffering. We know Jesus was there to greet him with open arms, welcoming him into His Kingdom.

We will see you again, Greg.  We will always miss you.

Mass of Christian Burial Thursday, February 10th. 10:30 AM with visitation one hour prior at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 9100 93rd Ave N, Brooklyn Park. Interment St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Cemetery, Osseo.