Lisa Harberd Grover

 Lisa passed away peacefully on May 29, 2026, at the age of 65, surrounded by family and a dear friend. 

 Lisa was born in Del Norte, Colorado, on October 3, 1960, to Patricia and James Harberd. Lisa was the youngest of three children, with Jim and Tim, her older brothers. The family moved to Idaho shortly thereafter and Lisa was raised in Boise and Weiser, graduating from Weiser High School in 1978. 

 She was an accomplished clarinet player (despite having her dog occasionally howl when she played). She was selected as first chair clarinetist for the Idaho Bicentennial High School band and performed in Washington DC at the Kennedy Center for the country’s bicentennial celebration. Lisa loved running and was on the Weiser track and cross-country teams. While she loved running, that didn’t stop her from cheating a bit at cross-country practices, including having a friend pick her up mid-run and drop her near the finish and sometimes stopping at the Weiser golf course club house in the middle of a practice run for a piece of pie. Appropriately, she was named Class Clown at Weiser High. 

 After graduating from Weiser High, Lisa went north in her VW Karmann Ghia to The University of Idaho. She pledged Pi Beta Phi and began building lifelong friendships with her sorority sisters. She loved playing pranks. Once she replaced a sorority sister’s mattress on the sleeping porch with a sanitary pad and left a note “we washed your mattress and it shrunk!”. Lisa was actively involved in the leadership of Pi Beta Phi and was President of the house in 1981. After college, she was on the Pi Beta Phi Alumnae Advisory Committee for several years. She fondly remembered her days at the U of I and bled black and gold for the Vandals and burgundy and silver blue for Pi Beta Phi. We never knew when she’d start up the Vandal fight song in public.

 In the fall/winter of 1980, Lisa and my paths began to cross. We were both accounting majors and we began having classes together. At first, she thought my name was Stewart – so much for making an impression! We began running into each other at Mort’s or the Corner Club and would have great, intense conversations. I immediately knew she was the one, but she remained aloof and rebuffed my requests for a date. We continued to talk after class and meet at Mort’s, and finally in March 1981, she decided we were a couple. Ironically, our first official date was in April 1981. We were inseparable after that.

 After graduation, Lisa began her career with Boise Cascade in the Internal Audit Department. She was always grateful for the experience she had at Boise Cascade. In addition to traveling throughout the U.S., Lisa was fortunate to land some of the most sought-after assignments in Germany, Austria and Hawaii. We both traveled extensively at that time and there were several times when we’d be traveling to the same town at the same time – an unexpected treat.

 Lisa had a strong sense of self and was fiercely protective of her independence. On October 6, 1984, we were married. During the ceremony we lit a unity candle. However, she insisted that upon lighting the unity candle, the individual candles would not be extinguished. She was emphasizing she would not lose her identity and individualism simply because she was married. I loved that about her. Never missing out on a party, we were the last ones to leave the reception. As the wedding reception was winding down, Lisa noticed cases of champagne being carted toward the door. Lisa went up to the staff and asked who was paying for it. “Uh… the bride’s father” was the answer and the champagne was then immediately returned to the stockroom. Due to a sequence of events too lengthy to describe here, we had to bum a quarter off some stoners in a van at 2 a.m. to call a taxi to get home that night. They gave us an extra quarter in case I misdialed the number. The next morning as we were at the airport heading out on our honeymoon, Lisa later confessed to me that she was thinking “who is this guy and what have I done?” What a way to start a marriage – but it all worked out! 

 Lisa always had a sense of style. Her look was constantly changing, from a punk haircut, to a curly perm, to letting it go back to its natural straightness. She could make any outfit look good, from her purple canvas hi-top shoes, to her zebra striped one-piece jumpsuit, to her classic Alice in Wonderland party dress. She was always fashionable. At her bachelorette party, her friends each picked out one of her outfits to wear to the party to honor her bold and sometimes crazy style. In the early eighties, Boise’s women’s apparel stores were limited. Since Lisa was traveling around the country so much, she would take advantage of cities that had good shopping. One time when I was picking her up at the airport from one of her business trips, her coworker came up to me shaking his head. He said: “I’ve never seen anyone shop that fast and buy so much – good luck to you!” Her favorite phrase was “you have to shop to save!”

 In 1988, she left Boise Cascade to start up the Internal Audit Department at Micron Technology. Lisa always said that once she was traveling less, she wanted to get cable TV and dogs. We made a fateful decision: Beagles named Steve and Debbie. Steve and Debbie are infamous, and their antics are too lengthy to describe here. But Lisa loved them (or at least Steve) and they provided her years of companionship. One beagle story needs to be told here. We brought the beagles through customs at Dulles. The highly trained drug-sniffing beagles of the Dulles security team were making a sweep of the area. Steve and Debbie saw them and began howling. The drug-sniffing beagles broke down and began howling as well, much to the amusement of everyone, including the DEA agents. So much for the disciplined Dulles beagles.

 She made a name for herself at Micron and was promoted to CFO of Edge Technologies, the predecessor to Micron Electronics. During her years at Micron and Edge, she hired a number of bright, talented people. She had a knack for spotting talent and never had a hire that didn’t work out – an enviable feat. She remained friends with all of them to this day. 

 In 1992, an opportunity arose to move to Switzerland. Always ready for a new adventure, Lisa enthusiastically embraced this opportunity. Lisa plunged headfirst into getting settled, developing new friendships, and strolling through the countryside with the beagles which reminded her of one of her favorite movies, The Sound of Music. Wanting to keep busy, she began teaching English at Inlingua. Credit Suisse hired her to teach business English for their commercial banking division. In 1994, Lisa and I greeted our first son, Nick. She didn’t let the idea of a newborn slow her down. We were on an international flight back home within the first three weeks of his life. We would cross-country ski and hike with him on our backs and we’d attach a baby trailer onto the back of our tandem bike and just keep going. 

 We traveled extensively throughout Europe, but she loved the Alps the most. Lisa’s two favorite places in Europe were the Zermatt and Jungfrau areas. We hiked, biked and skied throughout the Alps. Numerous friends and family came to visit and the adventures continued. Lisa was proud to have biked up Alpe d’Huez, the iconic climb of the Tour de France. When she got to the top, she commented “that wasn’t so hard”. I reminded her she wasn’t racing and hadn’t just completed 1,000 miles prior to the climb. She skied the glaciers of Jungfrau and the Monk. During this trek she began to wonder if she’d ever see Nick again. A cycling tour of the Burgundy region of France brought a lot of laughs, great memories and fantastic food and wine.  

 In 1996, we moved to Boulder, Colorado and started another phase of our life. Lisa enjoyed the vibe of Boulder and having Denver so close. She particularly enjoyed the Cherry Creek Mall. In 1997, Lisa and I greeted our second son, Joe. The family unit was complete. She always laughed about taking Joe to Denver Bronco games. All the people around us wanted to see him and he ended up being passed through the nearby crowd – always under the alert and watchful eyes of Lisa making sure he was okay.

 In 1997, Lisa had an opportunity to return to Micron Electronics to lead the Internal Audit Department. We were looking at making a change and she jumped at the chance. Lisa juggled the responsibilities of her job and challenges of being a relatively new parent with apparent ease, even though I knew it wasn’t easy. She was always there for the boys, but never a helicopter mom. She let the boys make decisions and take responsibility for those decisions (they didn’t end up juvenile delinquents).  

 Both boys played ice hockey, and both were goalies. Lisa was the ultimate hockey mom, taking them to 5 a.m. practices, attending all the games (even though sometimes she’d need to leave the rink because she was too nervous), and taking them on out-of-town hockey tournaments. The boys always liked traveling with Lisa better than me, because she would always get them their own room – hockey gear is very smelly. She decided that hockey looked fun and joined a women’s hockey league as a goalie. Her first year, her team won the championship. From then on, she let the boys know that she had won a championship before they did. Nick’s favorite professional goalie was David Aebischer of the Colorado Avalanche. Aebischer is Swiss and was born in the same town and hospital that Nick was born in. Lisa decided that Nick had to meet Aebischer. Being her persistent self, she began calling and emailing, multiple times, every number/email that she could find for the Avalanche. Finally, she received a call back and a meeting was set up. Nick was in awe of being able to meet Aebischer. This was a memorable moment for Nick, and he realized the lengths his mother would go for ones she loved. It is truly a small world, as we were talking to Aebischer, Lisa and I found out we knew his aunt in Switzerland!

 Lisa was always there for Nick and Joe, loving and supporting them through every stage of life. She had a way of making them feel cared for in both the big moments and the small – never missing a birthday, an anniversary, or an occasion worth celebrating.

 Joe says one of the greatest lessons his mom taught him was the importance of honoring your word and keeping your commitments. Growing up, whenever he asked if he really had to do something he had agreed to, she would always say, “They are counting on you.” She made sure he followed through, and it became one of the most meaningful life lessons. It was through her example that he learned what it means to be dependable, faithful, and true to the people who rely on you. In these last few years, Joe came to understand even more what it means to show up for others. My mom touched so many lives because she was always there – steady, caring, and committed to the people she loved. She gave her time, attention, and heart so freely, and those who knew her were made better by her kindness and presence.

 After the beagles, Lisa was ready for another dog. She found her little Rover Grover, her pal and constant companion for 17 years. Rover was Lisa’s partner in crime. Lisa would often sneak Rover into the boys’ elementary classrooms in her coat. After Rover passed away, Lisa had his ashes at her bedside. One day she saw that his urn had been moved away from her bed. She asked if I would move him back to her bedside. I said sure and commented how nice it was she wanted him close by. She replied, “I just want to set my water on top of the urn”.

 When it came time for Nick and Joe to go to college, Lisa let the boys decide where they would go. She was elated that both decided to attend The University of Idaho and both joined fraternities. She loved going up to Mom’s weekend and Homecoming, seeing the boys and their friends and attending the functions. She’d go to the boys’ fraternities with Rover – he was the hit of the fraternity parties, with all the sorority girls wanting to hold him. She was a proud Vandal Mom.

 Over the years, she went on several trips with her close girlfriends, creating new, funny stories along the way. One stands out. She went to St. Lucia with a dear friend. They would hang out at the beach and the resort restaurant and swim-up bar. They were having a great time. As the week wore on, they began talking with a group of Brits they had seen at the resort. They found out the Brits had been placing bets among themselves as to whether Lisa and her friend were a couple. 

 Several of her friends have called her a Force of Nature, which could be taken quite literally. She had a knack for being in numerous earthquakes. In addition to several earthquakes in Boise over the years, she was in Palo Alto at the epicenter of the 1989 World Series earthquake, an earthquake in St. Louis and the 2001 earthquake in Seattle. Other examples her friends have used to describe her are: Stylish, loyal, super fun, smart, stubborn, direct, tenacious, lived life unapologetically. All are absolutely true.

 She remained physically active throughout her life until MS began to impact her mobility about 13 years ago. In true Lisa-fashion, she did not feel sorry for herself. She would look back on her life and comment on how happy and satisfied she was. She had no regrets. Her motto always was “Work hard. Play hard”. She lived life to the fullest. At both of the boys’ weddings, Lisa was adamant that, despite her MS, she was going to have the mother/son dance at each wedding.

 After 45 years of knowing each other, we still had much to talk about. We’d go out to dinner and see other couples simply eating their food, not talking. We would talk like we were on our first date. We had a special relationship. Lisa, you will be greatly missed.

 While Lisa was not controlling, she did want to “will” certain things to happen. Our son, Joe, and his wife, Sam, are expecting their first baby and our first grandchild. Before the name reveal, Lisa was lobbying for the name Lisa Ann and a birth date of July 23rd which was Pat Harberd, Lisa’s mother’s birthday, despite the doctor’s targeted birth date of August 1st. She didn’t get her way on either of these (however, maybe July 23rd is still a possibility). Sadly, Lisa will never get to meet her granddaughter.

 Lisa is survived by her husband, Brad, her sons Nick (Alena) and Joe (Sam), her father, Jim (Fumiko) Harberd, her brothers Jim (Darla) and Tim (Laurie), and numerous nephews and a niece.

 She was preceded in death by her mother, Patricia Harberd.

 A celebration of life will be held on September 19, 2026, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Telaya Winery, 240 E. 32nd St., Garden City, Idaho.

 In honor and memory of Lisa, the family suggests a donation to the Lisa Harberd Grover Memorial Fund c/o University of Idaho Foundation, 875 Perimeter Drive MS3143, Moscow Idaho, ID 83844-3143 or online at https://giving.uidaho.edu/campaigns/lisa-harberd-grover-memorial-fund. The purpose of the Fund is to support the chapter housing experience and encourage leadership at her beloved Idaho Alpha Pi Beta Phi.