Renate (Reni) Archibald, a loving wife, sister, mother and grandmother passed away at Lahey Hospital in Burlington, Massachusetts on June 6, 2023, at the age of 78.
Reni was born in Wasserburg am Inn, Germany in 1945, to Ilse Schulz and Klaus Otto, an officer in the German Luftwaffe. She left Germany with her mother and brother Michael after her mother married an American Army officer, Melville Alexander (“Sandy”) Sanderson. Their first foreign posting was Damascus, Syria. From an early age she travelled extensively, moving with her parents, and siblings Michael, Ivy (deceased) and Dana (deceased) to postings in Japan and Vietnam. It was in Colombo, Sri Lanka, that she met her husband, Laurie Archibald, a member of the Canadian Foreign Service. Together they travelled to postings in Lebanon, England, Cuba, India, Italy, the United States and Canada with their two children, Andrew and Avril.
Reni was always a homemaker, but she also worked as a public servant for Canada House in London, the RCMP in Ottawa, and Concord Recreation later in life. Her skills honed on the diplomatic circuit, Reni loved to cook and entertain. She was able to replicate the cuisines of many places she lived, including Indian curries and Italian pasta. She nurtured her real passion — watercolor painting — after she retired, taking lessons, and exhibiting her work locally in Concord. Reni remarried in 2017 to John Archibald and lived several happy years in Concord, tending to their vegetable garden, traveling to southern climates, and painting every day.
Reni was the “hostess with mostest” and nothing made her happier than sharing a glass of wine and a good meal with friends and family. She will be missed by her remaining family including her daughter-in-law Amy, son-in-law Robert, and grandchildren Leni, Otto, and Zoe.
Family and friends will gather to honor and remember Reni for a period of visitation on Saturday, June 10, from 3-4:30 p.m. at the Concord Funeral Home, 74 Belknap Street, Concord, MA. Her funeral service will follow at 4:30 p.m. Burial at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, will be private.
Arrangements under the care of Concord Funeral Home, Concord, MA. To share a memory or offer a condolence visit: www.concordfuneral.com
