Renée S. Janssen

Renée S. Janssen died on Oct. 30 in the home in Fairfield, CT, that she shared with her husband of 33 years, Peter A. Janssen, after a courageous and determined 19-year battle with metastatic breast cancer. She was 77 years old.

The daughter of Nancy Donaldson Starring and Mason B. Starring III, Renée grew up in Mt. Kisco, NY, and graduated from The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, NY. She married John Woodbridge Patton Cartwright, Jr., and lived in Beeville, TX; Pensacola, FL; Laguna Beach, CA; Havelock, NC; and Wichita, KS, before settling in Fairfield.

Renée was active in real estate in Fairfield, Southport, and Westport for many years, and was chair of the board of Grasmere Eldercare Center. She loved her garden, her home, her family, her many friends, and vacationing at her parents’ home in Antigua.

Renée is survived by her sons, John Woodridge Patton Cartwright, 3rd (and his wife, Ashly), of Tucson, AZ, and Brian Macfarland Cartwright (and his wife, Liz), of Durango, CO; her brother, The Rev. Malcolm Starring (and his wife, Jan), of Littleton, NH; her stepchildren, Katherine Janssen, of Tenafly, NJ; Kristen Friesen, of Kalispell, MT; Peter A. Janssen, Jr., of Phoenix, AZ; and Elizabeth Janssen, of Seattle, WA; and her grandchildren, Laine, Ella and Jack Cartwright, and Edward and Elizabeth Salaski.

There will be a celebration of Renée’s life for family and friends next spring in Wilmington, DE.