Kristy Kerst, an assistant park ranger at Tallulah Gorge State Park, was laid to rest Friday, Dec. 13.
In November, Kerst, 47, was killed in a hit-and-run in a McDonald’s parking lot in Monument, Colorado, after she was struck by a minivan allegedly driven by Joel Lang, who police say left the scene but later turned himself in to authorities.
Lang, 41, is charged with 2nd-degree murder, vehicular homicide, and failure to report a crash involving death.
A funeral service for Kerst was held on Friday, Dec. 13, at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she was born in 1977.
A GoFundMe has been set up to lend financial support to her family during this tragic time.
In 2006, Kerst earned an associate’s degree in natural resource management from Pikes Peak State College, according to her obituary. Kerst also was a licensed wildlife transporter and held various other certifications.
From 2021 to 2022, Kerst served as a park ranger with the city of Jacksonville, Florida. She later began her career with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in 2024.
A major milestone, Kerst had recently been elected President of Park Ranger Academy Class #7.
According to her obituary, Kerst “was finally beginning to reap the benefits of her hard work” at Tallulah Gorge State Park before her life was taken.
“Her job was full of excitement, and she was passionate about bridging the gap between humanity and nature, touching many lives along the way,” Kerst’s obituary says.
Kerst is survived by her daughters, Britany Visage (Aaron Visage) and Hanna Kerst (José Martinez), as well as her grandchildren, Jayce and Harrison Visage and Quinn Mae Kerst-Martinez.
Her surviving siblings include Denise Arellano (Mike Arellano), Virgil Norris, Troy Norris (Casie Norris), and Kimberly (Kerst) Stevens. Kerst also raised her niece Kayla (Kerst) Watts (Wacey Watts) as a daughter.
She also leaves behind her great-nieces Adrihanna Kerst and Natalie Watts, and her great-nephew Dacin Watts – in addition to many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Kerst is preceded in death by her parents, Barbara (Johnson, Norris) Kerst and Kenneth Lee Kerst; her sister LaNita (Norris) Hobbs; her brother Tracy Norris; and her nephew Jeremiah Chamberlin.
