Born March 9, 1967
Burlington, Vermont
Died Nov. 25, 2023
Boston, Massachusetts
Kate True — artist, activist, mother, middle sister, treasured friend — passed away at her home in Boston two days after Thanksgiving, cared for by her family and those she loved. She was born in Burlington on March 9, 1967, the daughter of Marshall True and Judith Yarnall. During most of her childhood she lived by Lake Champlain in Charlotte, graduating from CVU.
Kate found her path in life early on. As a two-year old she began making small sculptures out of foraged household materials, and though in the end breast cancer took away, much too early, her stamina to stand by the easel, her painting and printmaking flourished in the decades in between.
In 1989 Kate received a B.A. with high honors in Studio Art from Wesleyan University. After she earned an M.F.A. in film making from NYU, her focus gradually shifted towards working with oils. Most of Kate’s work was figurative, often in portraits that hint as well as reveal. “I’m interested in the way our bodies, gestures, and expressions can telegraph meaning so eloquently,” she states on her website (katetrue.com). Her own children were muses and models for some of her most striking large paintings. Her beautifully detailed portraits of families, especially children, have found homes throughout the US and beyond.
Kate was passionate about social justice, celebrating the resilience of women and people of color. She co-produced a series of print portraits of luminaries of Black History, begun before the Black Lives Matter movement. She co-curated “Nasty Women Boston” in 2017 and contributed to “Nasty Women NYC”, both emphatic speakouts and continuations of the massive women’s marches of 2017. She worked as she lived, with a career enriched by many collaborations, her light and joy for art widely shared. Grants she received included some for public art from the city of Boston and the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC); she also presented workshops packed with children at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. Kate’s final solo-show “Stay True,” revealed an expansive artist working at the height of her powers and in multiple mediums: clay, oils, watercolor. Its opening in September was both victory and celebration, with several CVU friends among the crowd.
Kate had a gift for friendship and cherished her friends — from Vermont, Wesleyan, New York and Boston, from her book group of twenty-plus years, from her art critique group. Above all, Kate cherished her children. She possessed the courage to discern what she truly wanted and to go after it. And she possessed the kindness to respect and nourish those whose paths intersected with hers. It has been a privilege to walk with her.
Kate is survived by her children Nico, Julian and Tess Lepeska-True; by her mother Judith Yarnall of Burlington, her sisters Julia True of Amsterdam, Netherlands and Anna Couperthwait of Huntington, and by her brothers Adam and Steven True. She is also survived by her stepmother Charon True of East Fairfield, stepfather Jon Yarnall, and her former husband, Peter Lepeska.
The family wishes to thank the Parlin Hospice Residence and Good Shepherd Home Hospice, organizations which eased Kate’s last months and made it possible for her to stay at home, as she wanted. We give thanks to that community, who reflected Kate’s generosity, grace, and optimism back to her, including a special thanks to those friends closely involved with her care.
A memorial celebration of Kate’s life is planned for late spring. In lieu of flowers, donations in Kate’s memory may be sent to Artists for Humanity.
