Although her blood runs Arkansas Razorback red today, Renata Jenkins Byler was born in Europe while her father served in the Navy. That life experience gave Renata a chance to see other parts of the world and learn to keep things shipshape.
“I was born in Germany and lived in Italy until I moved back to the United States when I was 4 years old,” she said. “We would get in the little VW, travel through the Alps and stay in a little hostel. One night, [my parents] heard me up in the middle of the night. They turned on the light, and I was putting everybody’s shoes two by two because I didn’t like the chaos.”
After her father’s years of military service overseas, Jenkins Byler’s family came home to Arkansas and the family business, Roller Funeral Homes.
Jenkins Byler’s grandfather Denver Roller founded the first Roller Funeral Home alongside his wife, Christine, in Mountain Home in 1938 . Roller now has 25 locations across the state, as well as Citizens Fidelity Insurance, which provides funeral preplanning services. Jenkins Byler is vice president of marketing and facilities and third-generation owner of Roller Funeral Homes.
“When I was growing up in Little Rock and sitting around the dinner table, listening to my dad tell stories about how the funeral home went that day or what funerals were like, I would just sit there in awe,” she said. “I knew as a young child that this was what I was going to do.”
Jenkins Byler said her grandmother Christine taught her to gain the respect of her team through hard work and recounted Christine’s advice the night before Renata went to work for Roller: “When you walk into that room, you command [respect]. You walk in there with your head high. You do what you’re supposed to do. If it means cleaning the toilets, you clean the toilets. If a picture’s crooked, you walk in there, and you straighten the picture like I would, and that’s how you take care of business at Roller Funeral Homes.”
Jenkins Byler’s approach to caring for clients is summed up in what her organization calls the “Roller Experience,” which she explained as her team’s mission to “foster healing and offer solace, fulfilling even the unexpressed needs of our families.”
Her drive to serve is evident in the company’s unique offering, Life Celebrations. Roller is the only funeral home in Arkansas that offers the service, which personalizes memorials by creating meaningful items that capture the personality of the deceased.
“We pick out something that’s very special to [the deceased],” she said, adding that whether the item is a blanket featuring the loved one’s dogs or a one-of-a-kind football game ticket, those unique touches leave lasting impressions.
Jenkins Byler recognizes the challenges facing the funeral industry, especially with the trend of large, corporate competitors buying small, family-owned funeral homes.
“Wall Street people are coming in and buying up the small mother-and-father companies because [the small funeral homes] just can’t do it anymore. Then the big companies come in and raise the prices.” Jenkins Byler said, adding that Roller runs things differently. “A Roller Funeral Home fosters a work environment where Christian values are lived, quality of life is enhanced, and coworkers are valued.”
Recently, Jenkins Byler made a commitment to practice random acts of kindness daily. She also believes in accepting the kindness of others because there is joy in receiving, as well as giving.
Jenkins Byler said she is motivated by the adventures of a new day and the opportunity to serve others.
“I love life and my family, my animals and my coworkers, and the idea that I can be of service to someone today and touch someone’s life in a thoughtful way and expect nothing in return,” she said.
In addition to her work in the funeral business, Jenkins Byler’s life is filled with love for her family and animals. She balances caring for her parents and managing her home: a farm with goats, geese, a horse and a mule.
“I don’t let a lot of grass grow underneath my feet,” she said.
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