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Nigel A. Renton
February 10th, 1927 - January 10th, 2021
February 10th, 1927 - January 10th, 2021
Nigel Renton of Berkeley passed away from complications of COVID-19 on Jan. 10. The prominent Oakland insurance executive and noted Episcopalian layman was 93. He was a veteran of World War II.
He was born Nigel Auld Lindsey-Renton in Reigate, Surrey, in England on Feb. 10, 1927. His father George, born in 1858, was a successful timber merchant in London; Nigel’s mother, the nurse Blanche née Auld, was George’s second wife. Nigel attended Port Regis boarding school, and passed the examination for Royal Naval College Dartmouth in 1940.
Nigel served on the heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk as a midshipman toward the end of World War II from 1944 to 1945. He later served in the Pacific as an officer in the sloop Black Swan. He resigned his commission in 1948 and attended Lincoln College, Oxford University with a degree in English Literature.
After graduation, he worked in Liverpool providing public relations for the Royal Globe Insurance Company. As part of his duties, Nigel felt he might as well learn something about insurance.
In 1957, Nigel emigrated to the United States along with his new wife, Lola née Cadman. After first trying his hand at public relations in New York City, he received a job offer in San Francisco, working, to his initial disappointment, in insurance. At this point, he dropped the double-barreled Lindsey-Renton for the simpler, more American, Renton. He became a fan of American football and baseball, and held season tickets for Cal Football, which he enthusiastically attended with his two sons. He attempted, unsuccessfully, to cultivate an American accent.
Nigel joined a small insurance agency in Oakland, and became its leader in the mid-1960’s. The firm, Dealey, Renton & Associates (DRA), specialized in Professional Liability, with an emphasis on Design Professionals such as Architects and Engineers, and became the leading agency of its type in California.
Nigel emerged as a prominent lay leader in The Episcopal Church after settling in California, and was involved in Episcopal Church politics on the national level starting in 1982, acquiring the nickname "The Terminator” for his success in drawing debate to a close. His activity in Church governance also included a passion for the development of Episcopal liturgy and worship. His papers, which cover topics of liturgy and governance for the period 1962-2008, help document lay participation in Church life after the adoption of a new Book of Common Prayer in 1979.
After a divorce, Nigel married Barbara Lewis in 1970. Barbara, a Berkeley High School biology teacher, had four children of her own, and together with Nigel’s two, they formed a large loving blended family. Barbara and Nigel had a loving and teasing relationship. Family meals could become the “Barbara & Nigel Show”, with much parrying back and forth. Barbara was often the instigator, and Noble Nigel would take it, take it, take it, before responding with a riposte of his own—all done with a twinkle in his eye.
He was an avid stamp collector, oenophile, and, in his youth, skier and sailor. He also hooked rugs while watching British television dramas. He was also a patron of local classical music groups such as the Berkeley Philharmonia Baroque and the New Esterhazy Quartet. An avid world traveler with Barbara throughout his life, he became increasingly frail and homebound, and in his later years, he lost the ability to walk and stand up on his own. He suffered from congestive heart failure, and after contracting COVID-19, he survived for three weeks.
Nigel is survived by his wife, Barbara. He leaves two sons, Jeremy and Nicholas, and is survived by grandchildren Margaret, Anna, Gwynneth, Thomas, and Fiona. He was a loving father to Barbara's Lewis children: Kristin, Laurie, Lisa, and Brian, a doting grandfather to his grandchildren Justine (Lewis) Clifford, and Chloe Woodruff née Forsman and Shannon Forsman, and great-grandfather to Holden and Jackson Clifford. He further acted as grandfather to Karen and Alison Benke, the stepdaughters of his stepson Brian, and as great-grandfather to Collin Prell, son of Karin Benke.. He was predeceased by his sisters Margaret Cobbold and Evelyn Savage, and half-siblings Reginald, Leslie, Violet Robertson, Olive Robertson and Madge. With his Lindsey-Renton half-siblings, he had living great-nephews and nieces, great-great nephews and nieces, and great-great-great nephews and nieces, scattered across the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Singapore and the United States.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers donations be made either to Amnesty International or the Saint Mark’s Rector’s Discretionary Fund at 2300 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA, 94704. For further information, please call (510) 848-5107.
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Lisa Lewis
When I first met Nigel, I was 15. He was so English and unique and I found him quite amusing. At dinner, I randomly asked a flip question and the next thing I knew, Nigel had gotten out an encyclopedia and sought my questions answer. A question I no longer cared about! I would wander off, go upstairs, do things, come downstairs much later, and there was Nigel— still reading the answer out loud to an audience of none! As a fifteen year old, I found this hilarious and henceforth baited Nigel with questions and walked off. After all, here was this peculiar English man, very different from my own father — now taking the attention of my beloved mother. I was after all, a teen hellion and the only of my mothers offspring (besides brother Brian’s weekend visits) at home with Nigel, my mom and two new step brothers, Jeremy and Nicholas. Eventually I grew to respect Nigel’s knowledge and learned, from him, methods of pursuing it. My step brothers I also grew to love and I thank Nigel for bringing them into my life. There was a difficult life event that happened when I was 16 for which I falsely held Nigel largely responsible. Several years ago, I learned he had not been my foe but actually had been my ally. I forgave him, which was good since I had held a false belief. That was cleared and our relationship deepened and I was able to unblock my heart and love him more fully, for which I am grateful. Nigel was someone who often stood by me. He almost always gave me great council, except a few times, and once, he stood behind the bad council and made it good later which was truly appreciated. When I began an adventure travel business, which I ran for many years, Nigel had me book flights for everyone in his office. This provided some bread and butter for my fledgling business. Later, Nigel took to planning incredible trips all over the world with Barbara and his business colleagues. These usually included some off shore banking country, complex routings with a multitude of diverse destinations. Nigel was always good with maps and figuring out unique routes. In part, because of this, and the Himalayan destinations, I honed my global logistic planning skills. We were diverse, somewhat opposite characters, he, with his “Thomas guide” map skills and my skill at getting fortuitously lost, we both shared a love of adventure— his was planned and mine planned for happenstance. We both loved prayer, his in church and mine on the often rough road of life. And through our differences we forged a love of father and daughter. One time I was going to be in Tibet and Emirates Airline was holding an event for travel industry professionals, including a gourmet dinner and a drawing for two airline tickets to anyplace they flew. Nigel was my business advisor, and I had already printed business cards for him on a nice thick card stock. As I was out of country, I asked Nigel and Barbara to go to this dinner in my stead. Sure enough lucky Nigel won the two tickets and later I had the pleasure to plan a trip to Bhutan for them. They even returned a towel to a small hotel in Delhi, that my daughter and I had inadvertently absconded with a few months earlier! On the return, they visited our dear friends, and extended family, the Jungs and shared a wonderful experience in Dubai. As a single mother, I was concerned that my daughter, Justine, did not have a proactive father. I discussed this with my mom and Nigel and decided Nigel could be a good father substitute. This mantle as granddad and father figure Nigel embraced and he was a great role model. I am grateful to Nigel that he stepped up in this way. I miss his knowledge, editing skills, elephantine memory, generosity, kindness and his consistency in a tumultuous world. Nigel made a difference in so many lives. One time we drove to Los Angeles together. To pass the time we had a spelling game. Naturally, he would win at this, but generously, when I found a way to win, he let me do so. We spelled the names of Indian cities, which of course because of my work, I knew where the secret H’s were, and he never complained and gave me great delight in beating him in an area, spelling, where he would have normally given me a royal kick in the pants! I am grateful for Nigel and I thank my mom for telling Joe Stevens to ‘open that little door’ on a cheap Co-op charter flight to England, because Joe, “blowing the emergency hatch” was why Nigel met my mother those many years ago. (That is still the best “how we met story” I have ever heard.) Nigel’s generosity left all of his children, step children and grandchildren well off. While, he certainly did not need to do that, it was something important to Nigel and he left a legacy of generosity. He exemplified charitable giving and taught us the satisfaction in supporting great non profits. Nigel was fair and his clients and employees would certainly vouch for that.
Jack Murray
As an officer of the Natural Resources Defense Council, I knew Nigel and Barbara - two devoted environmentalists- for nearly 20 years. I visited them in Berkeley, stayed with them in Colorado and saw them when they came to NYC. I was introduced to Laurie Lewis’s music through them. Nigel was an amazingly cultivated man, with an ever-curious mind, and an infectious laugh. I was blessed to have known and been friends with him.
Bonnie Anderson
He remains in my mind's eye and memory as a dedicated, brilliant, knowledgeable and articulate Deputy. His life is celebrated with gratitude for his many contributions of wisdom to the House of Deputies at General Conventions.
Theresa Bucher
Note to self: getting hired after interviewing with an ice bag on your bleeding scalp should indicate you’re in for an interesting ride. Mary Barlow hired me in just that way. During the “interview,” she had me read a bit of something. In my mind, I was thinking, well, duh, lady, I can read! Little did I know I was going to be reading to N-I-G-E-L, a tour de force of the English language. Over time, reading *to* became reading *with* Nigel, as he and I shared a love of history and the quirks of the English language. “Stick around and you’ll learn something,” he’d say to me. In my mind I added “kiddo” to that, as he always had an avuncular way with us caregivers. Well, not always. He could be a curmudgeon. I told him I was taking notes to know how to be one when I got to his age. Thanks to Nigel, I now pronounce the word “permit” as a noun correctly. (I had been stressing the wrong syllable since, like, forever, which I should have known, as it follows the same pattern as the noun “EStimate” versus the verb “estiMATE.” Since this involves the Renton and Lewis families, I know each of you reading this is now testing this out.) I am truly saddened that Nigel is no longer with us, as I had two books in the queue to read with him. One is from the Peter Duck series he loved, and the other is Dead Wake, both of which deal with sailing and/or the Navy. It was especially fun to read books with him that led him to tell tales of his Navy days. He had a wry sense of humor. One night Barbara had me cornered downstairs right before I was scheduled to leave, yet again rearranging the books on the shelf. Essie! WHERE ARE YOU, I was thinking. I used the excuse of checking on Nigel to escape upstairs and told him what I was doing. He replied, “Did you know that Barbara was on the Titanic?” I started mentally calculating. “Hmm, the Titanic went down in 1912 and Barbara was born in the 1920s or is she even older than that…” But before I finished, Nigel explained. “Yes. She was rearranging the deck chairs.” He and Barbara both had an acute appreciation of frugality. One night the dinner menu was vegan Shepherd’s pie. As he ate, he had an odd look on his face. I asked him how it was. He paused and answered, “Interesting.” Yet he soldiered on and finished all of it, not wanting to waste a precious bite. I wish the Renton and Lewis families peace during this time. And if somehow Nigel’s spirit was being sent to the nether regions instead of upwards where it belonged, I hope he yelled out a phrase he taught me, “Wrong way, Corrigan!”
John Leech
When Bishop Swing swung his gavel at diocesan convention, Nigel Renton was there to raise points of order, initially in the role of 'gadfly' but when the bishop appointed him Parliamentarian he formally and humorously relinquished the role of 'gadfly' to another.
Alison Benke Altmann
NIgel always made me feel so welcome in his home with Barbara, like family and that was really special. I enjoyed talking with Nigel because he always had interesting stories to share. Nigel listened and truly showed interest in what was happening in your life. Nigel was very easy to be around, he had a quiet confidence. I was lucky to share many holidays with Nigel and Barbara and their beautiful family. It was fun to watch Nigel with the rest of his family because you could tell just how much he loved each of them in his own way. He will be very missed and it was an honor to know him and call him family.
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