August 26, 1955 – August 10, 2023
Steve Bennett of Glenwood Springs, Colorado, passed away peacefully and painlessly following a ten-year battle with Parkinson’s Disease.
Born in 1955 to Fred Bennett and Patricia McDowell in Great Bend, Kansas. Steve grew up in Ellenwood, Kansas before relocating to Wooster, Ohio in 1966 where he spent his adolescent life competing in the local soap box derbys and playing high school football.
His passion for the outdoors led him to Utah State University where he studied outdoor recreation and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Science. He was an avid outdoorsman who lived, worked, and played across the western United States in states such as Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. His 37-year career with the U.S. Government began in 1979 with the soil conservation service in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He soon transferred to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Craig, Colorado where he was able to follow his true passion for outdoor recreation and public land management.
In 1997, he was offered a position with the BLM that landed him and his family in beautiful Glenwood Springs near all of his favorite activities: boating, camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, and skiing. He was eventually appointed to the Colorado River Valley Area Manager where he spent the rest of his career acting as a true steward to the public lands. As area manager, he worked diplomatically as a liaison between the BLM, oil and gas companies, environmental groups, and the public. He was also instrumental in managing several of the wildfires on the western slope during his time in office. Most notably, he was able to acquire and implement a large restoration grant for the land and watershed affected by the Coal Seam Fire.
Married in 1980 to Robin Kennedy, they shared two beautiful daughters, Brooke and Chelsea. He instilled his love for the outdoors within them both at an early age through hiking, camping, fishing, skiing, and multi-day whitewater rafting trips in his beloved drift boat. He could always be found along the river with a fishing pole in one hand, a cold beer in the other, and a loyal dog by his side. As a longtime resident of the Roaring Fork Valley, Steve will take with him the locations of all the finest secret fishing spots and his fond memories of the cascading waters of both the Roaring Fork and the Colorado River.
Steve was preceded in death by his father, Fred and multiple loving pets. He is survived by his mother, Patricia, sister Debbie, his loving daughters, Chelsea and Brooke, son in law, Jake, and beautiful grandchildren, Asa and Lyla who adored their “papa.”
A celebration of life will be held on Thursday, August 24th at 4:30pm at a private space hosted by Rislende Events along the Colorado River – 54 CR 311, Silt, CO 81652. We invite all with a personal relationship with Steve to attend and share fond memories about your time with him.