Northern Wyoming News - Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years

William Gordon ("Bill") Renner, 90, was the youngest of four sons born on Oct. 18, 1927 to Homer Glenn Renner and Ethel Grace Simpson Renner. He and his mom, Grace, spent his first few months in a small and still-existent cabin on the banks of Ten Sleep Creek, just beyond the mouth of the canyon and a few miles east of Ten Sleep. Then they rejoined the rest of the family on the Renner homestead just west of Red Dick Canyon on the Big Horn / Washakie County line. During his youth (and especially in the presence of his brothers Jim and Chuck) he spent his time working on the ranch and his dad's sawmill, and loving the Lumen and Laddie Creek breaks and surroundings; this often included fun-loving "pranks" of startling and teasing the CCC crews who were building roads in that area prior to WWII. Bill developed a lifelong love of this beautiful corner of our World, understanding how precious a place in which he/they lived.

He eventually went to Worland High School (where he was one of a few students who became school bus drivers while still in school), with a one-year hiatus spent at Billings Polytechnic High School (where his mornings began daily before 4 a.m. milking the cows). A graduate of Worland High School in 1946, Bill and his many friends embarked on productive lives. A few of those friends were life-long; he and Jerry Brown and Homer Ellison (among many others) were frequent companions for the many decades to come, raising families who also shared the joys we can only know when living in such a blessed place. Bill's friends were there in October, 1952 when he married a wonderful young lady who was a native of Nebraska – Lee Hashberger. Together Bill and Lee moved back onto the ranch (occupying a house on the lower part of the old Ziesman homestead) and raised three children starting in 1953 through the early-mid 1970's. There they worked and remained until 1979 when the Renner family sold the ranch to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department; the "Renner Wildlife Management Unit" is to this day property open to everyone to enjoy the beauty this natural place provides.

After the family sold the ranch, Bill and Lee moved to Ten Sleep (not far from where Bill was born) and enjoyed watching their extended family grow as daughter Susan's family in Worland expanded. A great joy which both Bill and Lee enjoyed in their retirement was spending time with their family. Bill's love of fishing, and of showing his grandsons how to fish, earned him the fond nickname "Fish Man" by his grandchildren. He loved this nickname for that reason.

Bill is preceded in death by his parents and brothers; his wife, Lee, of 41 years in 1993; his elder daughter, Nancy, in 2003; and numerous other family members and friends.

Bill is survived by his son, James Mark and wife Susan of Gasquet, CA; Mark's daughter Hannah of Pahoa, HI, and Susan's daughters Lindsay of Payson, AZ & Melissa of Eureka, CA; by his youngest daughter, Susan Scheuerman and husband Paul; Grandsons, Christopher (Tabby) Scheuerman & great-grandson Gage, Andrew (Kristen) Scheuerman & great-grandson Leo; Granddaughters, Brittney and Jannel Scheuerman, Kristin (John) Ferguson and great-grandsons Ezra and Beckett, all of Worland, WY.

A visitation will be held at Veile Mortuary Chapel on Monday, January 29th from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. A private family burial will take place on Tuesday. Memorial donations can be made to the Ten Sleep Senior Center c/o Veile Mortuary P.O. Box 730 Worland, WY. Arrangements have been entrusted to Veile Mortuary.