In memoriam, Sir Knight Christie T. Rembetsy
In memoriam
It is with great sadness that Council #81 announces the passing of our brother and past Grand Knight Christie T. Rembetsy, 93, on December 30, 2019.

Sir Knight Christie Rembetsy
Christie was one of Council #81’s most valuable assets for decades. He took his first degree 56 years ago in 1963. He was Grand Knight in 1974 – and again in 1991. He attended almost every Council meeting right up until about 9 months ago when he began to lose mobility. Even then, he attended his last few meetings in a wheel chair.
Christie was a Fourth Degree knight and a member of the McSweeney Assembly. He was a member of the Color Corps for many years.
Christie was known for his huge heart and boundless capacity to give his time for others. He was one of the founders of the Adolescent Psych Ward program at the Westborough State Hospital where Knights put on a cookout in the summer and a Christmas party in the winter for the young patients. Until this year, Christie hadn’t missed a single visit in 26 years. He was also a long time volunteer at the V.A. hospital in Bedford on Sunday mornings, pushing wheel chair bound veterans through the tunnels of the hospital to attend Mass at the Chapel. He continued this mission well into his 80’s. Many of his passengers were younger than him.

Past Grand Knight Mike Gibson, Grand Knight Rafael Johnson, and present Grand Knight Mike Tremblay present Christie with the Lifetime Achievement Award
Council #81 was proud to present Christie with a lifetime achievement award at its 125th Anniversary Gala in 2018. He was, after all, a member for almost 50% of the Council’s existence!
Christie attended St. Matthias Parish in Marlborough where he taught in the Religious Education program and the Confirmation program for over 40 years. He was also well known to a whole generation of young Catholics all over the City as a volunteer organizer of the Life Teen ministry in the 1980’s and 90’s which was a joint ministry among all four parishes in Marlboro. He simply never said no when asked to help out with a youth program. He even coached Little League.
Christie was a Marine in the Pacific in WWII and again in Korea . He was trained as an engine mechanic and serviced naval fighters on aircraft carriers. He was honored by the city with a banner displayed downtown this past fall.
In addition to the Knights of Columbus, Christie was a member of the Marine Corp. League. As their Chaplain he visited sick and home-bound veterans, and honored their service at funerals with military honors.
It seems Christie was present at every youth or veteran-related event in Marlborough. Here he is teaching cub scouts and boy scouts how to salute at the 2009 Veteran’s Day wreath-laying ceremony in Marlborough.
And being honored himself at a parade in Wellesley for Korean War veterans in 2013.
After the war, he earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Northeastern University. He retired as a mechanical engineer after a long career, having worked on important projects such as the Apollo program. His niche was building scale models and mock ups of projects under development, and his work is still visible in exhibits at the Boston Museum of Science and Childrens’ Museum.

Mayor Arthur Vigeant awards Christie Rembetsy the 2018 Senior of the Year
In 2018, the City of Marlborough honored Christie with the Senior of the Year award, an honor given to a senior citizen who contributes to the betterment of the community past age 85.

Christie’s son John Rembetsy (kneeling), daughters Judy McDonald (behind wheelchair), Lisa Rembetsy-Brown and Nancy Linnehan; and sons-in-law Jerry McDonald, Geoffrey Brown and Bruce Linnehan.
But most importantly, he was the patriarch of a kind and loving family. His wife Rita died in 2001.
Without a single doubt Christie’s brother Knights are proud to say that he exhibited all of the principles of our Order: Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism.
Funeral arrangements are as follows:
Wake: Friday January 3rd, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., Short and Rowe Funeral Home, 95 West Main St., Marlboro
Funeral Mass: Saturday January 4th, 10:00 a.m., St. Matthias Church, 409 Hemenway St., Marlboro
The Rembetsy family has requested donations in Christie’s memory be directed to Council #81, Knights of Columbus, 277 Main St., Marlborough, MA 01752, or you can use the “Donate” button below.
Please feel free to share your memories of Christie below. Comments will appear after the webmaster has approved them.
Christie was a true gentleman. While I was GK, he was our Faithful Recorder. We would enjoy seeing him enter the council chambers carrying his minute book along with all the correspondence from previous meetings. I often wondered how he managed to carry that book. RIP MY FRIEND.
Don McCormack
PGK
When you think of guys like Christie Rembetsy and Paul Harrington, Knights such as them only come along once in a generation. Having two such individuals in the Council at the same time was amazing. They set the bar extremely high and left behind a legacy that will go unrivaled for a very long time.
Steve Thomas
Christie will be missed! He was one of the first parishioners we met when we moved here from Michigan. He always had a smile and a kind word. I feel sad that I will miss his wake and funeral. We are visiting family and friends in Michigan. We come back on an early flight on Saturday so if we get back to Marlborough in time we will get to the funeral.
Dale Dolesh
Christie joined the Knights in 1963 and he was instrumental in my joining the Knights in 1969.
He was a true Catholic gentleman and showed me the way through the officers’ jobs that I had the honor to hold. I remember Christie visiting me in the hospital when I had my stroke in my mid 30’s. He and Pat Mucci brought a deck of cards and the three of us played Pitch. He was an inspiration to all.
I had the pleasure of working with Christie and many others with the Marlborough Life Teen Mass program and he was always a pleasure to be around. My girls and all the teens loved his gentle ways and the insight he often gave on certain things they asked about. His wisdom and generosity went far with those kids and they hung on every word he had to say. I am blessed to have known him and know my girls feel the same way. Rest in Peace my friend, you will be greatly missed. You were an Angel among the living and now you are one at home with God.