Aug. 04--R. Lloyd Renfro, who ran an auto and tire store in Wheaton for many years, was a 14-year member of the DuPage County Board, where he developed a reputation for his knowledge of county government.
"I thought he did a marvelous job for the community," said former Glen Ellyn Village President Joe Wark. "I think he really took care of Glen Ellyn and the community. He was a man of his word and a strong guy with strong beliefs, and he worked them out."
Renfro, 83, died of complications from Alzheimer's disease July 15 at the Autumn Leaves memory care nursing facility in Glen Ellyn, said his son Rob. He had lived in Wheaton for the past 15 years and in Glen Ellyn for 52 years before that.
Born Robert Lloyd Renfro in Eau Claire, Wis., Renfro was the son of a hardware salesman. In 1948, the family moved to Glen Ellyn, and Renfro graduated in 1950 from Glenbard High School, where he met his future wife of 48 years, Phyllis. She died in 2000.
Renfro attended Monmouth College in downstate Monmouth for one semester, playing on the school's football team. He joined the Marines, serving during the Korean War at Camp Pendleton in Calif. He later moved to Amarillo, Texas, where he was a Marine recruiter, said his brother Charlie.
Renfro's father and uncle had started a tire business in La Grange, and upon his return from the Marines, they asked him to run it. The family moved the business to Front Street in downtown Wheaton in 1956 and later opened a second location in Elmhurst. In 1962, the family relocated the business -- known today as Renfro Auto Center -- to its present location on College Avenue in Wheaton.
Renfro eventually acquired the business outright from his father and uncle.
Renfro and his wife both were interested in local politics. In 1971, he ran unsuccessfully for Glen Ellyn Park District board. Then, in the mid-1980s, Phyllis Renfro began a four-year stint on the Glen Ellyn Village Board that culminated in her serving briefly as Village president.
In 1982, Renfro ran as a Republican for DuPage County Board and won a four-year seat. Initially an ally of then-board Chairman Jack Knuepfer, Renfro was head of the board's Solid Waste Planning Committee from 1983 until 1990. After winning re-election in 1986, Renfro found himself at odds with Knuepfer about how to run county government, and he announced plans in 1988 to run for township supervisor of Milton Township, which covers all of Glen Ellyn and most of Wheaton. He lost his bid at a January 1989 GOP nominating caucus.
Renfro won re-election to a two-year term on the County Board in 1990 and then won a four-year term in 1992. In 1993, then-board Chairman Aldo Botti tapped Renfro to be chairman of the Stormwater and Drainage Committee. He also chaired the Public Works Committee.
Renfro took stands on county issues including the sale of the old DuPage County Courthouse, the purchase of the Elmhurst Quarry for flood-control purposes and the DuPage County Forest Preserve District's purchase of the historic Mayslake property in Oak Brook.
"He liked talking to people, and he loved the give and take," his son said. "He loved getting in the middle of it."
Former board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom, who had been a board member alongside Renfro, said Renfro "was a big-picture guy looking at what did we have to do for the county to prepare for the next 10 to 20 years."
" We knew there were going to be a lot of changes. He worked hard to lay the foundations for a lot of the benefits we have in the county today."
In 1996, Renfro lost in the GOP primary to fellow incumbent Michael Formento and former board member Gwen Henry, who now is DuPage County's treasurer.
From 1987 until 2000, Renfro was executive director of the Glen Ellyn-based Illinois State Tire Dealers and Retreaders Association.
After leaving the County Board, Renfro traveled with his wife, and the couple owned a second home near Hot Springs Village, Ark. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease six or seven years ago, his son said.
In addition to his son, Renfro is survived by another son, Chip; three grandchildren; and another brother, Larry.
Services were private.
Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
