Maureen "Mo" Susan Rennie

Maureen Susan Rennie was born on March 30, 1955, in Ashern, Manitoba, and from the beginning, she lived with both physical and intellectual disabilities, carried by an unmistakably independent spirit. Mo grew up as a Manitoba girl with travelling roots, spending parts of her life in Fairford, Garson, Winnipeg, and Churchill, each community becoming another chapter in her story and another circle of faces she quietly remembered. In time, she moved west with her mother to Mission, British Columbia, before returning to prairie skies and settling in Saskatoon, where the walls of her sister Donna’s home rang with her laughter, and she always had a place at the table, no questions asked.

Life in Saskatoon was woven from everyday routines—kitchen conversations, inside jokes, family comings and goings that gave Mo a deep sense of belonging. Later, she moved to Elmwood Residence and built another kind of home among fellow residents. She especially loved her days at Cosmopolitan Industries, where she took pride in her work, tearing phone book pages, often caught reading the names in between, and enjoyed the friendly rhythm of shared tasks, jokes, and stories with her colleagues. When an accident changed the course of her life, Mo moved to the Treasure Garden unit at Sherbrooke Community Centre, where family, her caregiver Carol, nurses, and staff formed a steady circle of care around her, ensuring she was held with love as the road grew narrower.

Mo’s world was rich with relationships. She was predeceased by her parents, Samuel and Myrtle Rennie, her sister, Patricia Nevin; her niece, Aislyn Rennie; and her family takes comfort in imagining them welcoming her with familiar smiles and the special nicknames only they used. She remains deeply cherished by her sisters, Dr. Donna Rennie (Frank Russell) and Pamela Simmons, and her brothers, Greg Rennie (Peggy Hart) and David Rennie (Gwen Turbyne). Her nieces and nephews—Paul, Brooke, Eric, Christina, Cynthia, Darren, Samuel, Iain, and Kaitlin — each one carrying a different “Mo story” like a small, shining stone in a pocket. Wherever she went, Mo had a way of quietly becoming the centre of the room. She remembered names, pets, favourite teams, and small details that made people feel seen, and in her gaze, no one ever felt like background.

Mo laughed with her whole face, delighted in being teased, and never tired of a shared joke. She kept diaries of ordinary days—dentist appointments, her favourite friends Hope and Gloria, songs on the radio, little happenings that most people would forget—turning simple moments into something worth keeping. She loved music and sometimes imagined herself as a radio announcer, introducing her favourite songs. Her deep knowledge of 1960s and 1970s music, from The Beatles and Abba, Burton Cummings, and the Irish Rovers, made her a prized teammate for Trivial Pursuit, where answers rose from her memory like familiar chorus lines.

Above all, Mo moved through life with a deep love for her family, a kindness that asked for little and offered much, and a gentle, quirky presence that made the world around her softer and often funnier. Those who knew her are grateful for the imprint she leaves: remembered names, shared laughter, hands held in hard hours, and songs quietly hummed in the background. This summer, at family cottages under wide skies and light on the water, her family will speak her name into the open air, tell her stories on porches and by fires, and feel the space she still occupies among them. Until then, they hold close the music of her life and the warmth of the love she leaves behind.

Special thanks to the staff of Treasure Garden, Sherbrook Community Centre, for their care. As well, thanks to Carol Aldofer for her special assistance.

A private family celebration of Mo’s life will be held this summer at family cottages in Manitoba.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Cosmopolitan Industries (https://www.cosmoindustries.com) or Sherbrooke Community Centre (https://www.sherbrookecommunitycentre.ca).