Roselyn Irene Rensing

Roselyn Irene Rensing, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, and so much more, passed away on March 19, 2024.

Roselyn was a true California Girl: she grew up in San Francisco and Sunnyvale, surrounded by a large Italian family, where she was proud to be a lifeguard and loved listening to the Beach Boys. She decided to go to Iowa State, not just because she wanted to study Textiles and Marketing, but because she wanted to learn what it was like to live outside of California.

She returned to the Bay Area, where she met her husband Larry, and they spent the next 46 years together raising their four children. Motherhood did not slow her down; if Roselyn was part of a club, she led it. She was President of the Officer’s Wives Club of Los Angeles Air Force Base and PTSA President for President Avenue Elementary School, as well as a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society while receiving her Masters in Science Education from Cal State University, Long Beach.

Roselyn taught Honors and AP Chemistry at Narbonne High School for 23 years, where she cheered for each student as loudly as she rooted for the Narbonne football team. Her door was always open to all; her classroom was just as packed during lunchtime and nutrition because students and teachers alike adored her wry sense of humor and her tough-but-caring approach to life.

She served as Science Department chair and a mentor for her fellow teachers, was the Faculty Advisor for the student-run National Honor Society, and in 2011, she was recognized as Teacher of the Year with a prestigious Golden Apple Award by the Lomita Chamber of Commerce. Throughout her teaching career she taught many future nurses, teachers, and engineers, but was always delighted to hear from a prior student, whether they continued to use what they learned in her chemistry class or not.

Work alone was not enough to keep Roselyn occupied. On the few occasions she was sitting still, she was solving crosswords or the plots to crime shows while working on her latest creative project. She was an avid quilter and crocheter, and her children and grandchildren have many capes, blankets, and clothes that have a “Made by Grandma” tag lovingly sewn in.

Throughout her life, Roselyn was a force of nature. No matter how busy she was, she always made time for the things that mattered; her family, her students, and getting her nails done. The love, creativity, and knowledge that she passed to her family and students remains an incredible gift.

She is survived by her husband, Larry, her children Elaine, Matthew, Nicholas, and Laura; her sister, Marcia Waldron, her sister Andrea Starkey and her husband Fred, her brother Anthony Papapietro Jr. and his wife Christine, seven grandchildren, and many adoring cousins, nieces, and nephews, students, and fellow teachers.