Steve Alan

Burkett

Steve was born June 16, 1947, to Ira and Maurine Burkett. He joined the family with an older sister, Luanna, shortly after his father returned from serving in World War II combat duty on the Pacific Front. Steve grew up in San Antonio, Texas with many aunts, uncles and grandparents. When he was a child, he had eight living grandparents - a real rarity! He spent a great deal of time with two cousins Bob and Rick Krudwig, which were as close as brothers to him. Steve went to Thomas Jefferson High School and played trombone in the marching band.

He attended the University of Texas at Austin for his civil engineering degree. He roomed with his dearest friend from middle school Ken Emery and other friends. The Vietnam War was raging but Steve stayed in school. After graduation he went to work for the Texas Highway Department for 3 years where he did work on crash testing and safety precautions we still use today to prevent and ameliorate accidents.

He moved to Red River New Mexico in 1973. He had skied there with his parents in high school and a job opened with an engineering firm to oversee the building of Red River’s first water system. When the project was complete and the engineering group dissolved, Steve decided to stay on in Red River. He worked summers building homes and learning amazing skills that later helped the family build our family cabin in Red River. In the winter he worked as a ski instructor at the Red River Ski Area. In the evenings he worked at Texas Red’s restaurant where he met Ellen Fallis- the love of his life. He also served with the Red River Volunteer fire department.

In 1975, Ellen convinced Steve to move back to Texas to get a “real job”. She was attending TCU in Fort Worth. Steve was grateful to find a job with the newly founded Environmental Protection Agency. He would go on to work with the EPA for 40 years. He obtained a Masters in Sanitary Engineering at UT Arlington early in his time with the EPA. He was challenged by the work to keep our water clean; to clean up and maintain hazardous waste sites and he had a passion for working with the many American Indian Tribal groups in both Region 6 and Region 8. At the EPA, he was a proponent of promoting women into managerial positions and mentoring them, he was an early advocate for working from home. He was a leader in the emergency response team at their office using a defibrillator. He made lifelong friends with his calm intelligent leadership and sense of humor.

Steve and Ellen have 3 children Alyson, Dale and Nicole who were born in Dallas. Ellen trained as a registered nurse and worked at Parkland Hospital until Steve encouraged her to follow her dream to become a physician. With Steve’s help on the homefront, she attended medical school in Dallas. Steve and Ellen lived in Dallas until she completed medical school and matched for an Internal Medicine residency at the University of Colorado in Denver. Steve’s eventual boss at the Denver EPA heard about “a Region 6 engineer who was willing to follow his wife for her job” and actually created a job for Steve until one opened in the Denver Regional Office.

The 3 children led the family in neighborhood involvement for Steve (swim team parents, Member of the Neighborhood Board, placing flags at every home in the neighborhood on the Fourth of July when our friend was deployed in Iraq). Many of his special friends came from these years with the kids in sports and school activities. Steve and Ellen were married January 8th 1977 and were 2 months shy of their 50th wedding anniversary when he passed. Steve and Ellen were blessed to be able to travel during their marriage to many wonderful places with family and friends over a lifetime of experiences.

Steve retired from the EPA in 2010 and began a second career in photography- landscapes, flowers and wildlife. Italy was a great love, and he wrote a weekly blog (Italyouritaly.com) that shares photos and advice on everything Italy. Steve went on to win many prestigious photography awards over many years. His photography was shown in galleries in US and in Germany. He was published in the International Color Awards, Black and White Photography magazine and other photography publications. He was most proud of his selection from over 6000 entries from 68 countries to receive the International Color Awards 2024 Photographer of the Year for his photo Busy Day on the Grand Canal.

Steve survived a serious case of COVID in 2020 where he spent a month in the hospital on ventilator support surviving by God’s grace and the prayers of many. He often said he was spared to do more work for God. He spent the next 6 years serving South Holly Church as it’s treasurer helping to solidify the financial start of the church, singing in the choir and planning new and personal ways to reach out to the neighbors near the church to invite them into the community.

Steve was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) at the end of 2025 and struggled with its effects on his body and mind. In September and October of 2026, he and family and friends traveled for 2 months in Italy- a tough journey as he was no longer able to speak, eat/drink by mouth, or walk more than a few feet. He was dependent on tube feeding for nutrition and on a wheelchair for his travels. He was able to communicate with his phone, a message board and the eternal “thumbs up” sign to his family and friends. He passed peacefully shortly after their return to Denver. He is missed by his wife Ellen and their children and spouses: Alyson and Chad Prince, Dale and Maegan Burkett, Nicole and Justin McLeod and nine grandchildren- Ashlyn Batson, Braeden and Kiera Callison, Olivia and Piper Prince, Adelaide and Kyleen Mcleod, and Holland and Isla Burkett. His only sibling, Luanna Corder, lives in the Houston area near her family.

He is missed by all. His faith has carried him into his Savior’s waiting arms.

Celebration of Life

Saturday 11/28/26 at 10am

South Holly Church 7101 S Holly St Centennial CO 80122

To be followed by reception 1-4 pm at Maggiano’s Restaurant in Denver Tech Center