Alva Brantz

Alva Rennie Brantz, aged 88, died Wednesday, February 20, 2008 in Ft. Collins, Colorado. She was born May 13, 1919 in West Hartford, Ct., the daughter of William and Mary Rennie, both born in Alva, Stirlingshire, Scotland. Alva was preceded in death by her husband Edward Hall Brantz in 1984. Surviving are her sons Rennie Brantz, his wife Lana and son Douglas of Boone, N.C.; Malcolm Brantz, his wife Sue and their children Stephen and Cassie of Littleton, Colorado; and her daughter Claudia Karp, her husband Robert and children Keegan, Garrett, and Ethan of Ft. Collins, Colorado. Also surviving are her two older sisters: Dorothy Astman of Long Island, New York; and Mrs. Vi Sanders of Columbus, Ohio. A family memorial service will be held in Estes Park, Colorado in July. Alva Rennie graduated from West Hartford High School. She married Edward Brantz in 1941 in Avon, Ct., while Edward was attending Hartford Seminary. In 1945, Alva and Ed moved and their two young sons moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where Edward directed the South Omaha YMCA. The following year the Brantz family moved to Ralston, Nebraska, outside Omaha, where Ed served as pastor for Ralston's First Community Church. Alva taught Sunday school, sang in the choir, participated in numerous church activities, and lovingly raised her children. In 1957, Alva and Ed and their three children moved to Great Bend, Kansas. Edward served as pastor of the First Congregational Church and Alva continued her active role in the church fellowship by teaching Sunday School, singing in the choir, and carrying out all the responsibilities that fall to a minister's wife. Seven years later, in 1963, Edward and Alva moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, where Edward started a new Congregational Church. Alva not only continued her varied roles in the church, but she also participated actively in Hawaii's League of Women Voters, and the environmentally oriented Life of the Land organization. In 1976 she and Edward moved to Denver, Colorado where Edward worked for the U.S. Labor Department's CETA program and served as interim pastor for several churches. After Edward's death in 1984, Alva and her sister Dorothy traveled widely for a number of years, visiting Scotland, England, Scandinavia, Israel, and China. She and Dorothy also spent a number of winters in Hawaii attending Elder Hostel programs. Alva volunteered for years in service organizations like JeffCo Action in Lakewood, Co. During her last two years she lived in assisted living facilities in Ft. Collins, Colorado.