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Jack Renfro on a bale of hay. (Courtesy photo | Renfro Foods) <\/p>\nJohn \u201cJack\u201d Wendell Renfro, 89, son of Renfro Foods founders George and Arthurine Renfro, died April 6, in the midst of treatment for a recent throat cancer diagnosis.<\/p>\n
Renfro grew up in the Fort Worth-based family business. As chief operating officer of Renfro Foods Inc., Renfro handled the manufacturing, maintenance, shipping and receiving aspects of the business and oversaw the company\u2019s strategic plant expansion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Born and raised in Fort Worth, he leaves behind his three children \u2014 Doug, Andrea and Jill \u2014 along with eight grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and his sister, Linda Renfro. He was married to Connie Renfro for 60-plus years before her death in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Renfro was part of the secret sauce that led to the company\u2019s transformation from packaged spices and pepper sauce to salsa \u2014 which has become the key factor in Renfro Foods continued success, said Doug Renfro, his son and now president of the company.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDad was a dreamer,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019d come up with an opportunity, and he\u2019d say, \u2018Go for it.\u2019 He didn\u2019t do spreadsheets. He believed in people.\u201d<\/p>\n
That dreamer quality was a key to the company\u2019s long-term success.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad got a call in the \u201970s and at the time they were just making relishes, mainly at the time,\u201d Doug Renfro said. \u201cThere was a local taco sauce maker that was going out of business, and he went over and checked it out. He called his brother, Bill, and said there may be something in this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jack Renfro on a bale of hay. (Courtesy photo | Renfro Foods) <\/p>\n
Bill Renfro, who died in 2021 and was CEO of the company, was the more practical one. But they worked together well, Doug Renfro said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGod bless them; they saw an opportunity. So they bought out this business and from that decision everything we\u2019ve become has its roots in that,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The business now produces nearly 30 products available through supermarkets, gourmet food stores and gift shops in all 50 states and internationally, as well as for household-name clients around the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have all benefited from Jack\u2019s wisdom, humor and kind heart,\u201d said Becky Renfro Borbolla, senior vice president. \u201cOur company would not be the same without his influence and presence. He and my dad Bill, his brother who died in 2021, helped Renfro Foods find its future \u2014 and for that we are grateful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a child, Jack Renfro did odd jobs in the family business, then officially joined the company after receiving his bachelor\u2019s degree from Texas Christian University.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was inducted into the Specialty Food Association Hall of Fame in 2016.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Renfro got to see the company be recognized for its success as well. In 2018, the company was chosen as a finalist for the Dream Big Small Business of the Year Award by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Doug Renfro said his father was very involved in family life and noted that one of the first things he did when he took over for his father was to stop working on Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was usually home by 4:30 to spend time with the family,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jack Renfro was a lifelong member of the North Fort Worth Baptist Church, where his funeral will be held.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Doug Renfro noted that his father might have seemed quiet and reticent, but he never met a stranger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe would meet someone, and they would be his new best friend,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His father had also been a bull rider and a rodeo clown.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might never know it to meet him, but we\u2019ve got the photos to prove it,\u201d Doug Renfro said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His father also had an affinity for classic cars.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He participated three times in the Great Race, driving cross-country in the road rally in a 1935 Ford. His father recently purchased a 1963 Studebaker that he was planning to restore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said when he got sick that he had so much more he wanted to do,\u201d said Doug Renfro.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
His father passed those dreamer qualities on to him, as well as his father\u2019s habit of passing out salsa to everyone he met.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was one of the few people you\u2019ll meet that walked the walk and talked the talk,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s who he was.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Renfro Foods team will make donations to the following organizations on behalf of Jack Renfro, and welcomes others who knew him to do so in lieu of flowers:<\/p>\n
North Fort Worth Historical Society<\/a> in Fort Worth<\/p>\n Spring Creek Baptist Church<\/a> in Meridian<\/p>\n A funeral service<\/a> for Jack will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, April 17, at North Fort Worth Baptist Church. Visitation will be held by the family the night before from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 16, at Greenwood Funeral Homes <\/a>in Fort Worth.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bob Francis is business editor at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org<\/a>. <\/p>\n