Monika Rezmovits Obituary

Obituary of Monika Rezmovits

Monika Rezmovits (née Hiland)

April 28, 1948 – March 8, 2026

Some people move through the world leaving it exactly as they found it.

Monika Rezmovits moved through the world making everything more beautiful.

An artist by training and instinct, Monika was a curator of beauty in the deepest sense of the word. She had an eye that could see possibility in the overlooked, elegance in the ordinary, and meaning in the smallest details. Homes, gardens, tables, gifts, friendships, holidays - everything she touched carried her quiet signature of care, creativity, and intention.

Monika was born on April 28, 1948, in Stuttgart, Germany, to Irene Eppler. Her earliest years were spent surrounded by her large German family and the loving presence of her mother, whom she adored, and her beloved great-grandmother, Mina Kraft, "Oma," whose warmth and traditions remained a touchstone throughout Monika's life.

In 1955, her mother married James "Jim" Hiland, a U.S. Army serviceman who lovingly raised Monika as his own. The family grew to include her three beloved younger sisters: Evelyn, Helen, and Bonnie. Monika's childhood became one of movement and adventure, living near U.S. Army bases across Europe and the United States. She attended all four years of high school at a U.S. school in Germany, a time that deepened her love of art, culture, and travel.

After graduating, Monika chose to attend the University of Colorado in Boulder. In those early days she worked a series of jobs, including one memorable stint as a waitress that ended abruptly when she accidentally served a customer a generous bowl of butter instead of ice cream, a story her children never tired of hearing.

Boulder was also where she met the love of her life, Arthur Rezmovits. They first noticed each other at a Spanish class party. Arthur noticed Monika immediately. She was strikingly beautiful and, as he liked to tell it, impressively capable of finishing an entire bottle of wine herself. Monika noticed Arthur for a different reason: although it was a spaghetti dinner, he ate plain noodles with no sauce at all. That culinary preference would shape decades of creative cooking as Monika devoted herself to inventing dishes that avoided red sauce, green sauce, or really any sauce of any kind.

Monika earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from CU Boulder, and she and Art were married on January 13, 1973. Soon after, they embarked on six months of travel through Mexico and Europe, the first of many adventures they would share.

Throughout her life Monika worked in advertising with JCPenney, Aspen Leaf and Hagan Sports, later becoming deeply involved in the world of antiques, estate sales, and high-end furniture. She had a rare talent for recognizing beauty and history in objects others overlooked. Flea markets, estate sales, antique shops, and quiet beaches filled with shells and stones were her treasure grounds.

Once, on a trip near Hot Springs, SD, Monika and her sisters stopped along a rocky stream where Monika spotted a beautiful geode. Although signs clearly warned visitors not to take anything, Monika decided that particular rule did not apply to that particular rock.

But her greatest joys were the life and home she created for her family. Monika and Art welcomed their daughter Jamie in 1979 and their son Matt in 1981. Being a mother was the role she loved most in the world, and Jamie and Matt were the heart of her life. Over the years, the family was also joined by a long line of seven beloved Irish setters, each one cherished as part of the family.

Throughout her life she also shared many joyful times with Art's father Alex Rezmovits and his great-uncle Mike and Aunt Bobbi, whose home brought an extraordinary sense of family.

Holidays in the Rezmovits household were elaborate productions. She baked birthday cakes, hand-sewed Halloween costumes, fried up potato latkes for Hanukkah dinner, painted wooden Easter eggs, and created Christmas celebrations so beautiful that they are still spoken about with awe.

One Christmas Eve in 1982, a blizzard buried Denver in more than two feet of snow. In the days before, Monika had been caring for Art's mother, Regina, through the final days of her battle with cancer. Determined that Christmas morning would still be special, she set out with her sister Helen and Helen's boyfriend Michael (now her husband) to search for anything open. The only place they found was a pharmacy that happened to have a doll and a toy truck. On the drive home they couldn't risk getting stuck, so Monika was forced to jump from the moving Jeep into the snow in her front yard. Christmas was saved.

Monika was famous for searching tirelessly for the perfect gift or arranging a room just right. But those who knew her understood that the result was always worth the wait. She had a gift for truly seeing people and expressing that understanding through acts of beauty and generosity.

Her home reflected the same sensibility. Filled with art, objects gathered from travels, antiques, and carefully chosen treasures, it was not simply decorated but lovingly composed, a living gallery of a life well observed.

Monika herself was also an artist in the traditional sense. She created beautiful jewelry that she often gave away to friends and family. She had an intuitive sense for color, composition, and design, and she approached creativity with both joy and humility.

She also possessed a wonderful sense of humor. In the early years of her marriage, she and Art often shared a Sara Lee chocolate cake after dinner. The plan was simple: one piece each, and the rest saved for later. But once Art left for work the next day, Monika would occasionally return to the refrigerator for "just one more piece"… and then another… until suddenly the cake was gone. Her solution was practical: she would buy a replacement cake and eat two slices immediately so the evidence balanced out.

Monika laughed easily. Friends and family recall countless dinners, adventures, and stories shared around the table, moments filled with warmth, playfulness and the joy she brought to those around her.

Monika loved travel, art, literature, movies, chocolate and good conversation. She traveled widely with family and with her dear friend Linda, exploring the world with curiosity and delight.

She also shared a remarkable 50-year friendship with her bridge group; women who met regularly through decades of life's changes, later transitioning from bridge to mahjong but never losing the connection and loyalty that bound them together.

Monika was also a woman of conviction. A lifelong liberal Democrat, she cared deeply about human rights, women's rights, and fairness in the world. She believed strongly in compassion and dignity for all people.

Later in life, she joyfully welcomed her daughter-in-law Yingying into the family, and then her grandsons Jordan and Dylan. She loved them wholeheartedly, singing to them, dancing with them, and happily joining them on the floor to play.

Monika also cherished the time she spent visiting Matt and his wife Yingying wherever life took them. Over the years she traveled to see them in places as far apart as New Zealand, Italy, and North Carolina, always eager to experience the world alongside them. On one visit to North Carolina, they stayed together in the Outer Banks, where Monika delighted in watching the wild horses roam the windswept beaches.

In 2017, when Jamie announced she was traveling to Africa to work with elephants at a remote research center seven hours from Nairobi, Monika immediately decided she should come along. Officially it was for the adventure; unofficially it was because she didn't want her daughter alone in the wild. When they arrived and Monika saw the very rustic research outpost, with its thatched-roof huts and signs warning of deadly spiders and other animals, her eyes opened wide. At night they slept with flashlights in their hands just in case something decided to crawl across them, a detail that made the two of them laugh for years afterward.

In the last years of her life, Monika lived with Alzheimer's disease, a cruel illness that slowly took many of the abilities she had spent a lifetime cultivating. But it never took her kindness, and it never took the love of the people around her.

Monika shared a special friendship with Julie Heumann, who spent many hours by her side during this time. Together they took long walks through Cherry Creek State Park, with moments of companionship and quiet beauty that meant a great deal to Monika.

Through the vast majority of her illness she remained at home, lovingly cared for by her husband Art and her family. In her final months she was cared for at Spring Ridge Park, where the staff came to know well the constant presence and devotion of her family.

In her final thirteen days, Art, Jamie, Matt, and her sister Helen held a constant vigil, never leaving her side.

Monika fought courageously to the end.

She passed away on March 8, 2026, surrounded by love.

Monika is survived by her devoted husband, Arthur Rezmovits; her daughter Jamie Rezmovits; her son Matt Rezmovits and daughter-in-law Yingying Rezmovits; her beloved grandsons Jordan and Dylan Rezmovits; her sisters Helen (Michael) Reynolds, Bonnie (Robert) Kruse, and Evelyn (Gary) Wilder; sister-in-law Freda Lisnow; brother-in-law David (Carla) Rezmovits; nieces Christine, Fawn, Monika, Carly and Mischa; nephews Brian, David and Matthew; many grand-nieces and nephews; and a wide circle of cherished friends and neighbors who were like family.

The family is profoundly grateful for the compassionate care Monika received at Spring Ridge Park and from Brighton Hospice.

A Celebration of Life will be held on April 11, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at Quebec Place at Fairmount Cemetery in Denver, Colorado. A reception will follow at the same location.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Monika's honor to Spring Ridge Park to support the extraordinary caregivers who dedicate their lives to residents and families. Contact [email protected] to make a donation.

Those who knew Monika carry forward the quiet lessons of her life:

to notice beauty,

to care deeply for others,

to search patiently for treasures,

and to leave every place, and every person, a little more beautiful than before.