Lisa Kent Reinhardt Cerise

Lisa Kent Reinhardt Cerise was born on May 20, 1956, the fourth daughter of Lew and Betty Reinhardt. Lisa attended Victory Hill School from kindergarten through the eighth grade, and attended Scottsbluff High School, graduating in 1974.

From a young age, Lisa loved all animals. She especially loved horses, and was often down in the horse barn with her dad and out riding on the acreage where she grew up. Lisa was affectionately nicknamed “Boots” by her grandfather as a toddler, because she wore a pair of red cowboy boots everywhere she went. Lisa got her younger brother in trouble by convincing him to cut a hole in the barn door for her kittens, and loved many dogs in her life, most recently her beloved Sambo and Bell. Lisa showed horses in 4-H and Stable Club shows, and loved to prank her city slicker cousins by taking them for a horseback ride and then whispering “oats” to her horse, which made him run for the barn.

After high school, Lisa worked as a legal secretary in Scottsbluff and Fort Collins, Colorado. Lisa made many friends with her infectious personality, and one such friend invited her to go to Carbondale, Colorado, to work for a firewood company. She drove the logging truck, and once she moved to Carbondale, she never left. She lived in Redstone for one winter, and then she rented a small house owned by the Cerise family in the early 1980s. This was the beginning of a 43-year friendship and love affair with her husband, Bob. They married June 25, 1994, and lived on the Cerise family ranch until Lisa’s death.

Lisa was made for ranch life, and she enjoyed staying busy. She baled hay in the summer, gathered cattle from the high country in the fall, fed her beloved horses throughout the winter, and bottle-fed calves every spring. She loved to move cattle on horseback, or just go for a trail ride. She also liked to work in her garden and spent much of her time canning and freezing produce, which she hauled down the mountains to share with her Nebraska family every summer. Though he tried, Bob never could beat her at cribbage.

Lisa worked for seventeen years in the middle school kitchen and was affectionately known as, “Aunt Lisa” to all the kids. Every Christmas she sang, “Let There Be Peas On Earth”, as they came through the line. She loved to read and do crossword puzzles and always made the journey back to Scottsbluff for her family’s Fourth of July picnic.

Lisa died on August 17, 2025, in Carbondale, after a long period of poor health. She was preceded in death by her parents, Lewis and Betty Reinhardt; and her sister, Sara Taborsky. Survivors include her husband, Bob Cerise; sisters, Becky (John) Sorensen and Ann (John) Selzer; brother, Jim (Helen) Reinhardt; brother-in-law, Mike (Eva) Cerise; sister-in-law, Toni Cerise; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life will be held at the Clifford Cerise Ranch on County Road 104, Carbondale, on Saturday, September 13th at 1 p.m., lunch to follow.