diff --git a/libraries/entities-renderer/src/RenderableTextEntityItem.cpp b/libraries/entities-renderer/src/RenderableTextEntityItem.cpp
index 0dadb97047..9f209e91ef 100644
--- a/libraries/entities-renderer/src/RenderableTextEntityItem.cpp
+++ b/libraries/entities-renderer/src/RenderableTextEntityItem.cpp
@@ -16,12 +16,10 @@
 #include <DeferredLightingEffect.h>
 #include <GeometryCache.h>
 #include <PerfStat.h>
-#include <TextRenderer.h>
 
 #include "RenderableTextEntityItem.h"
 #include "GLMHelpers.h"
 
-const int FIXED_FONT_POINT_SIZE = 40;
 
 EntityItem* RenderableTextEntityItem::factory(const EntityItemID& entityID, const EntityItemProperties& properties) {
     return new RenderableTextEntityItem(entityID, properties);
@@ -57,15 +55,13 @@ void RenderableTextEntityItem::render(RenderArgs* args) {
         DependencyManager::get<GeometryCache>()->renderQuad(topLeft, bottomRight, glm::vec4(toGlm(getBackgroundColorX()), alpha));
         DependencyManager::get<DeferredLightingEffect>()->releaseSimpleProgram();
 
-        TextRenderer* textRenderer = TextRenderer::getInstance(SANS_FONT_FAMILY, FIXED_FONT_POINT_SIZE / 2.0f);
-
         glTranslatef(-(halfDimensions.x - leftMargin), halfDimensions.y - topMargin, 0.0f);
         glm::vec4 textColor(toGlm(getTextColorX()), alpha);
         // this is a ratio determined through experimentation
         const float scaleFactor = 0.08f * _lineHeight;
         glScalef(scaleFactor, -scaleFactor, scaleFactor);
         glm::vec2 bounds(dimensions.x / scaleFactor, dimensions.y / scaleFactor);
-        textRenderer->draw(0, 0, _text, textColor, bounds);
+        _textRenderer->draw(0, 0, _text, textColor, bounds);
     } 
     glPopMatrix();
 }
diff --git a/libraries/entities-renderer/src/RenderableTextEntityItem.h b/libraries/entities-renderer/src/RenderableTextEntityItem.h
index a211fde8c6..57a485241e 100644
--- a/libraries/entities-renderer/src/RenderableTextEntityItem.h
+++ b/libraries/entities-renderer/src/RenderableTextEntityItem.h
@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@
 #define hifi_RenderableTextEntityItem_h
 
 #include <TextEntityItem.h>
+#include <TextRenderer.h>
+
+const int FIXED_FONT_POINT_SIZE = 40;
 
 class RenderableTextEntityItem : public TextEntityItem  {
 public:
@@ -21,10 +24,12 @@ public:
     RenderableTextEntityItem(const EntityItemID& entityItemID, const EntityItemProperties& properties) :
         TextEntityItem(entityItemID, properties)
         { }
+    ~RenderableTextEntityItem() { delete _textRenderer; }
 
     virtual void render(RenderArgs* args);
     
 private:
+    TextRenderer* _textRenderer = TextRenderer::getInstance(SANS_FONT_FAMILY, FIXED_FONT_POINT_SIZE / 2.0f);
 };