Steven Lee Johnson

Steven Lee Johnson passed away on April 28^th, with family present, at Horizon Care Center in Eckert, CO. He was 74 years old.  

A Remembrance Service to honor Steve will be held at the Taylor Funeral Service Chapel at 682 1725 Rd. Delta, CO on May 11^th at 1:00 PM.   

Steve was born of Norwegian descent on January 4, 1950, in Cheyenne, WY, to Claire and Maxine (Nelson) Johnson.  He then moved to Denver, CO where, as a boy, he had freedom to roam the neighborhood on his bike, with his dog at his side, as he investigated the world.  He was a good “Big Brother” to his two younger sisters. He went to George Washington High school until the age of 17, later receiving his GED. 

He and Kay Lancaster met at GWHS and were married on February 8^th, 1970.  They recently celebrated their 54^th Wedding Anniversary in 2024.  

Steve and Kay started their family in Jacksonville, FL, and soon after, returned to Colorado where they lived in Aurora, then Castle Rock, then Larkspur, CO until the kids were grown. 

Steve took the responsibility of providing for his family very seriously and held multiple jobs of varying skill sets until he settled at his family’s business, Mountain States Printing, where he became an expert printer.  He then started his own letterpress business in his one-car garage which grew into a busy bindery that he operated in a large shop at their home in Larkspur, CO.   He enjoyed playing with kids, fly fishing in Cheesman Canyon, tying his own fly’s, eating chocolate chip cookies, fabricating metal, loved music, singing, history, and always pursued hobbies that required him to learn something first.  He was extremely self-sufficient. If he didn’t have it, he made it. He was passionate about learning and spent hundreds of hours researching the “next project”.  Because of his love for learning, he also liked to teach and share the information he learned.  His first retirement was in his 50’s when he and Kay left Colorado to explore the United States in their motor home, settling in Council Bluffs, IA.  During these years he became interested in studying computers. He purchased them from thrift stores to dismantle, rebuild, and figure out how they worked.  He became proficient at computer language, eventually learning how to hack into his own computers so that he could protect people from “hackers”.  He never achieved this goal, however in 2007, at the prompting of his wife Kay, he went to a job fair where he received immediate interest from Google after a short conversation with them. He worked his second career at the Google Data Center in Council Bluffs, IA as a self-taught, top-ranked computer technologist from 2007-2017 when he finally retired permanently at the age of 67, and moved to Cedaredge, CO.

He could often be heard saying “I can fix anything but a broken heart”, “You can depend on me”, “It’s not how much you make, it’s how much you keep”, “Do what you say you’re going to do”, “Pay yourself first”, and “You don’t know what you don’t know”.  Later in his life he adopted the phrase, “I love you more” in response to family expressing their love to him. Nothing brought him more joy than his family.

In his later years he received his HAM radio license, volunteered at Pioneer Town Museum, and could often be found walking his Border Collie Cricket, along Surface Creek and around their neighborhood in Cedaredge, CO.   Steve never knew a stranger and made friendly acquaintances wherever he went.  He had rosy cheeks and a twinkle in his eyes.  His smile and laugh were contagious to all around him.  He will be forever remembered, loved, and missed by his family and friends.  

Steve is survived by his faithful wife, Kay Johnson of Cedaredge, CO; children, Shanna (Greg) Baker of Olathe, CO, Kelly Burhenne of Treynor, IA, Michael (Drew) Johnson of Howard, CO,  Matthew Johnson of Montrose, CO, and Tammy Allemant of Woodlands, TX; grandkids, Kaycee (Andrew) Heavenridge of Olathe, CO, Haley (Caleb) Greenfield of Montrose, CO, Carson (Tatum) Burhenne of Montrose, CO, Jadie Burhenne of Montrose, CO, and Nina Allemant of Broomfield, CO;  great-grandkids, AJ Heavenridge, Ella Greenfield, Levi Greenfield, Trey Howell, Trinity Howell, and Alexis Allemant; sister, Sally Hughes of Aurora, CO; nieces and nephew, Mindy Midcap, Katrina Hughes (John), Michelle (Rob) Rivera, and Zachery (Sonja) Gupton; grandniece and grandnephews, Elise Midcap, Haden and Xander Gupton.

Steve is preceded in death by Claire Johnson, Maxine (Johnson) States and Jerry States, sister, Mary Hovland; grandnephew, Cameron Rivera; and granddaughters, Lana and Sonja Allemant.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Steve’s name to Hope West Hospice of the Western Slope.