James Rindfuss '59
October 2, 2017 1:07 PM
updated: October 2, 2017 1:11 PM
Published in The (McAllen) Monitor on Oct. 1, 2017
James Allen Rindfuss(1937 - 2017)
San Antonio, TX - Somewhere along the way from his birth and childhood in McAllen, Texas, through his education at University of Texas, Texas A&M, and University of Houston, to his arrival in San Antonio, which would be his home for the remainder of his beautiful
life, Jim Rindfuss developed an extraordinarily selfless set of principles from which he seldom - if ever - strayed. He fought for fairness, for justice, and for empowerment. He practiced inclusiveness, perseverance, and generosity. And he demonstrated his
boundless love for people in the most unambiguous way.
In his personal life, he did these things without precondition or the expectation of reward, and in his professional life, for his clients of widely disparate means and backgrounds - many of whom he also came to count among his friends - he was always a bargain
of incredible proportions.
Born in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley on June 24, 1937, and raised by his mother, Wynemah Rindfuss, a hairdresser and raconteur, and father, Frederick Rindfuss, a bus driver descended from German immigrants, Rindfuss was the eldest of five siblings. Determined
to distinguish himself, he willed and worked his way through school, accumulating degrees and expertise.
An accounting job at Frost Bank, and a belief that his tenacity would be rewarded, brought him to San Antonio, and his law practice and the love of his life, Marilyn Montgomery, kept him there. They married in 1969 and had two sons, Allen and Bryan, many informal
family members, and a never-ending procession of adopted animals.
After losing Marilyn to cancer in 2006, he continued to pursue their shared devotion to improving the educational system, serving on the board of Alamo Colleges. And it was his position on the board that eventually led him to meet and marry Marie Kane, who
remained his stalwart companion until his final breath on August 15, 2017.
He is survived and deeply missed by his sons, Allen and Bryan and wife, Marie, of San Antonio, mother, Wynemah Rindfuss, and sisters, Shirley Everhard and Jane Rodgers, of McAllen, Texas, nieces, Lisa Schiller, of Lott, Texas, Vicki Hastings, of Dallas, Texas,
Lori Luedecke, of Edna, Texas, Melissa Roland, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Alyson Montgomery, of Park City, Utah, and countless others who relied on him, and for whom he always came through, as if they were family.
A memorial service, at which all are welcome, will be held at First Presbyterian Church at 404 N Alamo in San Antonio, Texas on October 25, 2017, at 10 a.m. In lieu of cards or flowers, donations of either time or money may be made toward the education of someone
who might otherwise not be able to afford it.