July 24, 1961 – August 12, 2026
Denise Annette Rein (nee Torres) of Spring Hill, KS passed away at home in the early morning of August 12, 2026 after a day spent surrounded by her husband and children. She was 65 years old.
Denise was born to Carlos and Gloria Torres on July 24, 1961 in Kansas City, MO. The youngest of seven children, she enjoyed her big, loud family and would often reminisce over the “good old days” where the family home was booming with laughter and Mexican music. As a child she attended St. Therese Little Flower and graduated from St. Theresa’s Academy in 1978. In her youth Denise enjoyed dancing, going to concerts, working at the Plaza movie theater, and spending time with her nieces and nephews.
She met her first husband, Stephen Burrow, while out dancing. They married in 1980 and had two children. Her son, Michael, was born in 1984 and her daughter, Rebekah, followed 9 years later in 1993.
If you knew Denise, you knew that her children were the light of her life and her greatest joy. She poured endlessly into them and made sure to be involved in whatever activities they liked. She was a den mother and troop mom for boy scouts, a girl scout troop leader, a volleyball coach, a room mom, member of the PTO, chaperone for orchestra concerts, and many other activities. If it involved her kids, she was there supporting them. Her love was a gift and she extended that gift of love to many others in her life. She opened her home to friends and family when they needed a safe place to land, a trait she passed to both her children.
Her capacity to love grew even more when she met her second husband, Bret. They knew by their second date that they would be together for the rest of their lives. They spent the whole night talking and discovered they had a lot in common, including being at the same concerts at the same time when they were younger. They got married in 2009 and in total enjoyed 20 years of love and partnership. With Bret came stepsons that she loved as if they were her own. She cheered for their successes and stood by them through hardships. She loved having their kids over for family dinner and game nights. She also had immense joy in being “Grandma Denise” to her grandsons.
Denise is preceded in death by her parents Carlos and Gloria Torres, her sister and brother-in-law Sandra and Manuel Botello, sister Gloria Jean Torres, nephew and godson Christopher Robinson, and her beloved dog Macie.
She is survived by her husband Bret Rein, son Michael, daughter Rebekah (partner Judith), stepsons Chad and Tyler (wife KayLyn), grandsons Liam and Aiden, and several generations of nieces and nephews.
A celebration of life prayer service will take place on Friday, August 28 at 10:30 am St. John Francis Regis. Reception to follow at the family home.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Friends of Big Bear Valley, home of the “my eagle family” that she loved watching.
Obituary published by Highland Park Funeral Home & Crematory.
