Steve Wilson
July 22, 1942 - July 3, 2024
Stephen (Steve) Woodrow Wilson, Jr. made his peaceful passage into the arms of God on July 3, 2024. He died in his memory care home in Golden, CO. Steve was 81 years old.
Early Days
Born in 1942 in Birmingham, Alabama, Steve was the oldest of five siblings. They were loved, raised and cared for by traveling Baptist preacher Stephen Woodrow Wilson, Sr. and his dear wife, nurse Lilly Epley (Kennedy) Wilson.
Steve’s parents arranged for him to leave home at just 16 years old to live with an aunt, and later a friend’s family, in Florida so he would graduate from an accredited high school to ensure his successful entry to a good college. He worked at a landscape nursery during this time which sprouted his lifelong love of caring for plants.
To put himself through college, Steve worked as a reporter and cameraman for WTVT, a prominent Tampa television station. He had the great honor to cover stories around the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and even personally interview Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, poet Carl Sandburg, and actress Patty Duke.
From that point on, Steve was rarely without his camera. His passion for photography would define him to many as he was always behind the lens taking pictures and documenting life’s events.
Steve started college in his home state at the University of Alabama. He proudly recalled subbing for the regular announcer at an Alabama football game where he met Bear Bryant. Steve called Joe Namath’s name and number in what was Joe’s first college game in 1962. Up to his dying day, Steve proudly represented the “Crimson Tide” almost always donning one of his many Alabama ball caps and enthusiastically greeting folks with the school’s signature cheer, “Roll Tide!”
After a semester, Steve transferred to the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa where he was part of the school’s inaugural class, graduating in 1967 with a degree in Industrial Management. Perhaps more importantly, USF is where Steve met the woman who would become his everything, Katherine (Kaye) Jean Williams, the love of his life. The two of them married in 1965 and Steve had the blessing of sharing life with his dream girl for 59 years.
Career
Upon graduation, Steve took a job with aerospace tech giant Martin Marietta in Orlando. He was soon offered the opportunity to transfer to the company’s Colorado office as a production line supervisor. Steve gladly accepted the role and he and Kaye began their new life out West. While working at Martin, he contributed to the country’s first space station, Skylab, and the Viking Lander which landed on Mars — both are now on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Steve went on to work at Samsonite, managing production lines and later, at StorageTek, as a Safety Engineer where he spent most of his professional career, developing high-tech tape drives and testing electrical equipment. His coworkers knew him to be an excellent people person, a joy to work with, and a strong leader.
Family Life & Hobbies
Steve and Kaye had two children, Stephany (Steph) Wilson (52) and Andrew (Drew) Wilson (48). Steve was a devoted and very involved father. He always took the kids to see special events — anything from a comet or eclipse to a Broncos game, or even a building demolition in downtown Denver. He was a constant source of inspiration for Steph as she pursued both photography and journalism. Steve was very immersed in Drew’s activities — he refereed soccer games, was a bike mechanic and race support when Drew raced the Red Zinger Mini Classic, and he helped engineer some of the fastest pinewood derby cars the Boy Scouts had ever seen.
Living in the West spawned many new hobbies for Steve — cross-country skiing, cycling, searching for dinosaur bones, building bluebird houses, and learning about geology. He took his family four-wheeling in their 1977 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ-40 — exploring the many jeep trails in the mountains and discovering the magic of the canyon country in Utah.
Steve studied paleontology with the world-renowned Dr. Edwin Colbert at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. Here, he taught his children to lick rocks to see if they were fossils. Just so you know: If they stick to your tongue, they are indeed fossils.
He and Kaye had a long-standing tradition of staying in their favorite cabin each fall to 4-wheel up to the picturesque Crystal Mill and enjoy the golden aspen leaves. When his beloved Kaye was diagnosed with breast cancer, the two of them were beginning to design their dream home. They continued with the build as a symbol of hope for her healing. The completion of their home became a source of celebration for the beginning of their new life in the country, as well as her full recovery.
When son Drew and his wife Samara had two children — Ruben (21) and Luisa (19), Steve became known as Grandpa. He was beloved by his grandkids as well as his daughter-in-law’s entire family in Mexico, especially his “compadre,” Samara’s dad, Manolo.
Near The End
In his 70s, Steve was diagnosed with two kinds of dementia — frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer’s. His wife Kaye was his loving caretaker for 10 years. She and his children loved him through the challenges of the disease and brought him joy in any way they could — often by taking a drive in the mountains or enjoying an ice cream cone together.
Looking back on his life, Steve felt strongly that he had the honor of being in the right place at the right time — many, many times. He was always grateful for the opportunities he’d been given — much like his Mom whose mantra was always, “We are so thankful; we are so blessed.”
As we look back upon his life, we know that WE were the ones who were “so blessed” to have known him and known his love. We will forever miss him.
Service
The family plans to hold a memorial celebration of life on August 10, 2024, in Sedalia, CO. Please contact them directly for details.
Make a Donation
If you’d like to make a donation in Steve's honor, please consider these organizations:
The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD)
This is one of the types of dementia Steve lived with in addition to Alzheimer’s.
Douglas Land Conservancy
An organization dedicated to saving open space in Steve’s longtime home in Douglas County, CO, where he served on the Planning Commission working to preserve the natural beauty and resources.
Ghost Ranch
This is the educational retreat center in NM where Steve studied paleontology and taught his children to lick rocks (if you know, you know).