Renda Jo Wolford lost her battle with cancer on Dec. 12, 2023. She was 63.
Born April 9, 1960, Renda Branscom grew up near Creswell, Ore. and attended Creswell schools. She graduated from Creswell High School in 1978.
Renda married Gary Paben in Creswell in 1979. Their oldest son, Jared Paben, was born in 1982, and their youngest son, Bradley Paben, was born in 1985. Renda and Gary divorced in 2009. Renda married her husband Jeff Wolford in 2011, and they lived with their two cats, Oscar and Calvin, in Springfield, Ore. at the time of her death.
Renda spent her career in banking. She started working at Siuslaw Valley Bank (later Siuslaw Bank), becoming data processing supervisor starting in 1990 and working there until 2000. After a shorter stint at Centennial Bank in Eugene, she returned in 2003 to Siuslaw Bank to oversee the data processing department. In 2017, Renda accepted the position of vice president and director of operations at Summit Bank. In 2022, she was promoted to senior vice president. She planned to retire from Summit Bank, a place she loved working.
It was through Siuslaw Bank that Renda first met her lifelong friend, Tenia Sprague.
Renda was an incredibly talented photographer. As a member of the Emerald Photographic Society, Renda captured and shared beautiful nature and landscape scenes from around the American West. She also had a photography business, called New Adventure Photography, through which she took photos of athletes, graduating high school seniors and others. Her images were published in the local newspapers The Cottage Grove Sentinel and The Creswell Chronicle.
Her volunteer experience included serving her community through Meals on Wheels, United Way, the American Cancer Society and Junior Achievement USA.
Renda also loved traveling the world. With her family, she traveled throughout North America, the Caribbean, Central America, Australia, the South Pacific, and Europe (with a brief visit to North Africa). In addition to bringing back photos and other souvenirs, she loved collecting wooden masks reflecting different cultures she experienced around the world.
Renda was predeceased by her brother, Rick Ray Branscom (died 1978); her mother, Verna Mae (Bear) Branscom (died 1994); and her mother’s longtime partner and fiancé, Dick Paull Bailey (died 2014). She is survived by her husband, Jeff Wolford; her sons, Jared and Bradley; Jared’s wife, Inka Bajandas, and their daughter, Mila Bajandas Paben; Bradley’s daughter, Sophia Renda Paben; and Sophia’s mother, Laura Hodges.
