Sonia Jean Geis

Sonia Jean Geis

Sonia Jean Geis, 59, passed away at home on the evening of Wednesday, August 5, 2026, surrounded by her family and so much love.

Sonia was born March 13, 1967, in Rapid City, South Dakota. She spent her school years in Sioux Falls and her summers in Aspen, Colorado, a place she loved deeply throughout her life. Her family spent those summers tuning and rebuilding pianos for the Aspen Music Festival, and Sonia carried on that tradition as a piano technician herself. Aspen also brought so many wonderful people into Sonia's life, many of whom became lifelong friends.

Sonia met the love of her life, Gary Michael Geis, during his final year of college. Gary says he became the luckiest man in the world 40 years ago when he met his beautiful wife. Sonia was 21 and Gary 25 when they married on May 28, 1988, and a year later they welcomed their first child in Aspen.

In so many ways, Sonia and Gary grew up together. They raised Brittany, Gavin and Garett while figuring out life alongside one another, taking each chapter as it came and always finding reasons to have fun along the way. After nearly four decades of marriage, they were still flirty and playful and happiest in the simple moments - country music playing at home, a cocktail in the backyard hot tub, a movie together at night, time in the Aspen Valley, and family vacations and little adventures over the years.

"Family over everything" has always been the Geis family saying, and Sonia lived it. Family came first. Their closeness was something friends and family always admired, and no matter what life brought, they went through it together. Sonia and Gary gave their children good bones for navigating life: love your people, keep moving forward and always come back to family.

Sonia was energetic, bubbly, loving and fun. She loved country music, putting on her cowboy boots and dancing, and simply moving her body. Fitness was a big part of her life, and she was an avid fitness instructor, teaching aerobics and fitness classes throughout the years. She loved skiing and hiking in the mountains and especially loved playing tennis, including being part of the tennis team in Aspen. Sonia was also a travel agent and piano technician, carrying on the Schoppert family tradition of working with pianos. She loved cooking for her family and filling the Geis family home in Boulder with friends, food, music, laughter and memories. She had a warm smile, a kind heart and was always willing to help.

As a mom, Sonia was there through thick and thin. She loved her kids unconditionally and without judgment, and would happily talk to you for as long as you would let her. She loved her horoscopes and got such a kick out of how well everyone in the family seemed to align with their signs. She was a precious mom - supportive, accepting and always there.

At the end of May, Sonia and her family learned that she had stage IV uterine carcinosarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer. Everything changed incredibly quickly. She fought hard for more time with the people she loved, making it through two rounds of chemotherapy before the cancer continued to progress and her kidneys began to fail. When her body could no longer keep fighting, Sonia came home, where she wanted to be. In her final days, she was held, cared for and surrounded by the same love she had given her family throughout her life.

Sonia is survived by her husband and love of her life, Gary Michael Geis; her children, Brittany, Gavin and Garett Geis; her mother, Joan Petrik Schoppert; and her sisters, Rochelle Schoppert and Shanna Gulbrandson. She was preceded in death by her father, Robert Schoppert, and her brother, R. Scott Schoppert.

A funeral service for Sonia will be held Friday, August 14 at 2:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart of Jesus in Boulder, Colorado, followed by a reception. Friends and family are also invited to an open house celebrating Sonia's life on Saturday, August 15 from 2:00-5:00 p.m. at the Geis family home in Boulder. The address will be shared privately.

Sonia leaves behind a lifetime of love, laughter and memories that will live on in the family she held so close. We know she is somewhere beautiful now - healthy, free of pain, with music playing and mountains all around her.

Family over everything. Always.

Rocky Mountain high. We love you forever.