Kathleen L. Rensky

STERLING - Kathleen "Kate/Katie" Louise (Taubert) Rensky of Sterling, MA passed away on June 7, 2026 and went to join the lord and her predeceased family and friends in heaven. She was born March 28, 1956 in Worcester to Ethel Frances (Murphy) Taubert and Richard Henry Taubert, and was the beloved wife of George H. Rensky for 48 years.

For more than thirty years, Kate and George spent their summers two miles out at Race Point. They passed hours exploring the high dunes of Provincetown, where the land was wild and the rules were few. They camped, rafted, and fished. They lived on their own terms. And after decades of hauling fresh bluefish from those waters, Kate could cook one better than anyone. When access to the outer beach tightened and something of that wildness was fenced off, they found it again in Rangeley Plantation, Maine - on their own piece of land where the same freedoms held. Her sister in-law and nieces and nephews still talk about the cross-country skiing trips with the Newfies in the Enchanted Forest where getting lost added to the fascination with the forest. An avid snowmobiler and lover of snow, Kate chronicled her trip with George from the backdoor of their Maine property all the way to Percé, Quebec, on the Gaspé Peninsula in Canada through blizzards and ice flows and floods.

The coasts of Cape Cod. The woods and mountains of Maine. The places were different. What she was after in both of them was the same.

Kate's father, Richard, taught her early to stop and take in the world around her, to "smell the roses" - and she never forgot it. Not everyone sees beauty so deeply, she knew - but she did, and she traced that mindfulness back to him. Kate noticed things: the particular color of a hillside in October, the hummingbirds working the back porch, the Canadian Jays passing through. She pointed her camera at all of it - landscapes, wildlife, and gorgeous scenes out the car window as George drove them towards the next destination.She was a passionate gardener. Vegetables, flowers, the driveway beds, and the highway roadsides she seeded with a friend - nothing was off limits. Her asparagus bed was the envy of all. In the kitchen she was equally serious, devoted to preserving family recipes and determined that they not be lost. Kate loved Christmas - and her family always looked forward to her famous wide array of beautifully decorated tasty Christmas cookies.

Kate was fiercely loyal. She sent cards, never missed a birthday, and wrote her nieces and nephews Christmas letters (and emails, and Facebook messages) full of guidance and love - letters they still keep years later and look back towards for direction. Kate tenaciously stood up for her family, her friends, and her country without hesitation.

A proud graduate of Burncoat Senior High School and Quinsigamond Community College, Kate's working life began on Cape Cod, cleaning summer cottages alongside her cousins Jen, Judy, and Deb - and roaming the beaches, marshes, and backroads with them after hours. She went on to build a 45-year career at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, starting in executive administration immediately after college and taking on positions of increasing responsibility, with particular pride in her years at the Higgins House. She also served on the Sterling Animal Control Board.

A devoted wife, she leaves behind her husband George Rensky, her precious Newfie, Smokey, her siblings, Mark A. Taubert (wife Sharon), Cynthia French (husband Herbert), and Frederick J. Taubert (wife Mary). She leaves many dear cousins, nieces (Michele, Emma, Jena, Jessie) and nephews (Eric, Kyle, Joseph) and was predeceased by her brother James C. Taubert (wife Sandra).

The family thanks Kate and George's many friends for their support, and the team at the Hungry Trout in Oquossoc for their friendship, never-ending support, kindness and for standing by Kate in so many amazing ways (especially with the special shakes and lobster bisque) during her final months. You are all appreciated more than you know.

Family and friends are invited to attend calling hours on Monday, June 15th from 4:00 - 6:00 PM at Miles Sterling Funeral and Tribute Center, 100 Worcester Road, Sterling. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, June 16th at 10:00 AM in St Richards of Chichester Church, 4 Bridge St., Sterling. Interment will follow at Hillside Cemetery, Sterling.

To leave a message or share a memory please visit www.milesfuneralhome.com