Kolya S. Renne

1959 - 2008

Kolya Scott Renne, of Arlington, Texas, died of a sudden and fatal heart attack on June 30, 2008, while visiting friends and family in California. He was 49.

Kolya was the second son of Roger and Suzanne (Sime) Renne, and the grandson of Roland and Mary (Wisner) Renne and George and Josephine (Buzard) Sime, all of whom had long-time ties to Bozeman, several as pioneers.

Kolya was born in Portland, Ore., in 1959 while his father was a student at Reed College. The family moved to Berkeley, Calif., where Kolya grew up and attended school, graduating from Berkeley High in 1977. During the summers, there were always trips to Bozeman and Flathead, where the grandparents had a cabin on Flathead Lake.

After earning a B.A. from UC Santa Barbara in English and film studies, Kolya explored Europe and the U.S. for several years before being lured to Texas by an Internet romance. The romance was short-lived but he established himself in Texas, working as a teacher in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He found the students in Texas much more polite than those in California.

Kolya had many passions and was considered by his friends to be the innovator of the group, always planning a new adventure. He was a talented photographer and an imaginative writer. He had pen pals in many countries and sponsored two orphans through Save the Children. He told his family that he would like to be remembered for his compassionate and caring nature, his efforts toward leading a responsible life, and for his irrepressible sense of humor and irreverence.

He is survived by his mother, Suzanne Renne and stepfather, Julius Moshinsky, his brother Paul and sister Rachel, his maternal grandmother, his devoted friend Meranda, and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and his parrot, Bogie.

A memorial service was held in Berkeley, Calif.