Doris Renner

Doris Downing Renner, 96, went to First Baptist Church Sunday morning, August 14 to worship at 11 a.m., suffered a stroke at 7:30 p.m. and met her Lord and Savior at 11:40 p.m. on Sunday evening. She was a resident of Cleveland and a member of First Baptist Church for 63 years. She met her loving husband James Oscar Renner in Fayetteville, NC where they married in 1948. She was educated in public schools there and majored in Business Administration at Campbell College in North Carolina. She worked at Fort Bragg during World War II and later at the Navy Department in Washington, DC. After moving to Cleveland, she joined the Department of Employment Security. She worked in the Chattanooga area and then was chosen to supervise a pilot rural manpower program in a 5 county area. She was chosen to be manager of the Cleveland offices where she was retired in 1980.She was a member of the board of directors of Vocational Rehabilitation, Cleveland High School Vocational Office, Education Crafts Advisory Committee of the Cleveland City Schools, Governor's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped and member of the local and International Association of Personnel in Employment Security. She and James Oscar operated a dairy farm in the Red Hill community. She was a member of the home demonstration club at Flint Springs community. She taught a Sunday school class at First Baptist Church for over 40 years. She was preceded in death by her parents, Mary Breece Downing (who died when Doris was 5 years old) and her father, Daniel Lon Downing; sisters, Marian Downing Holton and Clara Downing Kneece; brothers, William Fred Downing and Daniel Laurence Downing. Survivors include her husband, the love of her life, James Oscar Renner of Cleveland; sister, Jean Downing Short of Wilmington, NC; sister-in-law, Mrs. Laurence Downing of Fayetteville, NC; nieces and nephews: Denise and Larry Holmes of Fayetteville, NC, DeLon and Ann Downing of Wilmington, NC, Larry and Renee Downing of Durham, NC, Robert and Marie Holton of Tallahassee, Fla., William and Inga Downing of Fayetteville, NC and Bruce and Audrey Downing of Raleigh, NC; her caretaker, David and great niece, Cora Ruth Shope; special niece and nephew, Judge Andrew Bennett and wife, Nancy. Doris was a loving aunt to many, many other nieces and nephews, a faithful friend and will be missed by all. Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, August 17, 2011 in the chapel of Fike Funeral Home with the Reverends Allan Lockerman, Jim Gibson and Tom Moncrief will be officiating. Interment will follow at Flint Springs Cemetery with Drew Bennett, Jack Easterly, Steve Gibson, David Shope, David Hannah and Charles Hannah serving as pallbearers. A white dove release ceremony will conclude the service. The family will receive friends from 5-8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church Building Fund; 1275 Stuart Rd, NE, Cleveland, TN 37312 or Flint Springs Cemetery Fund, c/o David Hannah, 7688 Dalton Pike SE, Cleveland, TN 37323 We invite you to send a message of condolence and view the Renner family guestbook at www.fikefh.com