Lanier recognized Papa Renty instantly from his resemblance to living family members.

Evidence

It was not even a question: from the moment I saw him, I knew it was him. As I stared at this man’s face, I was flooded with so much familiarity: the man I was looking at had the same features as my uncle Renty, or Bubba as we call him, and as my uncle Johnny, as my mother and me. — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 140