Lorenzo "Ren" T. Carlisle III

Lorenzo (“Ren”) T. Carlisle III passed away peacefully from natural causes on May 26th

at home with his beloved wife and children by his side. His last days were spent in his

favorite place, surrounded by loving family and friends, with the beautiful shoreline of

Lake Erie in front of him, and his cherished Purple Martins chirping and soaring through

the sky.

Ren lived a full and robust life over his 81 years. It is hard to distill his legacy down to

one construct, but, in short, Ren left everything better than he found it. From his

personal life to his professional life and in his leadership and advocacy within his

communities, he both questioned and nurtured, pushed and supported, and generally

exerted his influence in a way that challenged the status quo and sought to elevate the

collective shared experience for all.

Predeceased by his parents, Lorenzo T. Carlisle Jr. and Clare W. Carlisle. Survived by

loving wife Toni, children Zoë (Ted Theofrastous), Lorenzo, Ford, and Clare, sisters

Cassie Korland (Larry) and Vicki Carlisle and many other beloved family and friends.

Ren was a proud graduate of Western Reserve Academy and Dartmouth College. He

spent the bulk of his career at Carlisle’s, a regional chain of department and specialty

stores in Ohio and Pennsylvania, where he served successively as President, CEO and

Chairman until the sale of the company in 1996. A few years later, Ren and Toni opened

Carlisle’s Home in the Harbor, which was a founding pillar in the rejuvenation of the

historic Ashtabula Harbor. Around the same time, Ren helped start the Lift Bridge

Community Association. This followed a long tenure of service to his community,

including leadership roles at Civic Development Corporation for Ashtabula County and

the Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County, amongst others.

One of Ren’s passions in life was access to education and he became an advocate

promoting the importance of improving public education. To this end, he was proud to

be a founding trustee of both the Partnership for Education in Ashtabula County (PEAC)

and ACCESS Ashtabula. He also enjoyed his tenure as a board member of Grand River

Academy and Martha Holden Jennings Foundation.

Ren’s accomplishments are lengthy, but what those closest to him will remember is that

he was a self-ascribed bon vivant (and lived up to it), a great traveler, the Master of

Ceremonies at the dinner table, celebrator of all occasions large and small, SOMF

toastmaster, Gin card game enthusiast (and sore loser when it didn’t go his way), avid

reader, sparkling conversationalist and dedicated correspondent, and above all, an

exceptional husband, father, brother, uncle, and friend.

The last few years of Ren’s life were not the easiest as he navigated an increasingly

challenging health journey, but they also involved some of his happiest moments on

Edgewater Drive with Toni, his family, and friends. In many of these moments, he was

apt to say “What is better than this?!” In the same vein of gratitude and wonder, we will

cherish the memories of this incredible person and all that he brought to the world and

to us.

A Celebration of Life will be held at the family home on May 31st from 2:00 – 5:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Lift Bridge Community Association.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Lorenzo "Ren" T. Carlisle III, please visit our floral store.