J. Perry Lewis

J. Perry Lewis, 87, took his last breath on August 23, 2026. Born April 6,1939 in Mancos, Colorado, to James Albert “Hap” and Margaret Frances Riggins Lewis, Perry grew up in the Mancos Valley. He was horseback from a young age, riding his pony “Frisky” and , later, his horse “Rowdy” to the one-room Menefee School. He graduated from Mancos High School with the Class of 1957 and went on to New Mexico State University, where he earned a degree in agricultural science.

While at New Mexico State, Perry met Barbara Frances Donathan. They married in 1961 and shared more than two decades together, raising their two sons, Michael Joe and Perry Donathan.

After college, Perry went into ranch management and worked for Farmers Home Administration. Being a cowboy was never simply a job to him. It was the life he wanted, and the life he lived.

He knew the crafts behind that life as well. In his saddle shop, Perry made and sold saddles, cowboy hats, and other western goods, and even made his own cowboy boots. Few cowboys could say they had made their own saddle, hat, and boots.

Perry enjoyed spending his winters in Arizona, often working as a wrangler on dude ranches and returning to Colorado in the spring. It was during those Arizona years that he met Lynne Belle Lenhardt. Perry and Lynne married and shared thirty-three years together, making their home in the Mancos Valley on the family ranch.

Together they operated Rimrock Outfitters, a horseback trail riding business - a natural fit for Perry - living a life built around horses, people, and the country he loved. On trail rides in the La Plata Mountains, which he declared God had made, he sometimes played his homemade bass washtub, accompanying Lynne Belle’s cowboy songs. He loved the Lord.

Perry was preceded in death by his parents and his oldest son, Joe Lewis, who passed away in May 2017.

Perry is survived by his wife, Lynne; his son, Perry D. Lewis (Victoria), daughter-in-law Leslie Lewis, son Chris Lenhardt (Michelle), and daughter Jessie Lenhardt; grandchildren Cooper Lewis (Billie Jo), Taylor Lewis Molton (Tom), Cassidy Lenhardt, and Jacob, Colby, and Joshua Lewis; and his great-grandchildren, Kason and McCray Carter, and Reagan and Rowynn Lewis.

To his daughter he was “Papa,” and to his grandchildren he was “Granddad.”

Perry’s life was rooted in the Mancos Valley, family, ranching, cattle and horses. He enjoyed a good story (and occasional prank) and the people he met along the way. Through every chapter of his life, he was unmistakably Perry Lewis—a cowboy through and through.

A service honoring Perry’s life will be held Saturday, September 12, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at the Mancos Valley Church, Willow Street and Highway 160, Mancos, Colorado 81328. Donations may be made in Perry's name to Hospice of Montezuma, P.O. Drawer 740, Cortez, Colorado 81321.