Steve (Stephen) Pirk

Steve (Stephen) was born in Peoria, Illinois on October 21st, 1957 to Kenneth and Mary Jane Pirk. During many of his formative years, Steve's father worked for a heavy equipment company. His family was transferred overseas and they lived in Teheran, Iran for 2 years (Steve was in 1st and 2nd grade), and 2 years in Madrid, Spain (3rd and 4th grade) He often reflected on that time fondly, telling stories and acknowledging the positive global influence it had on his life. Later, Steve graduated with the class of 1975 from Kennedy High School in Denver, Colorado where he was an active member of the gymnastics team. Outside of gymnastics, he could be found skiing and skateboarding, as well as participating in a variety of other reckless activities he and his buddies could come up with in suburban Denver. From there, Steve went on to study at Colorado State University, where he met his ex-wife Anne and eventually graduated from ASU with a degree in computer science.

In 1981, a job opportunity with McDonnell Douglas brought Steve to southern California. It was here that Steve's daughters Jennifer and Laura were born in 1982 and 1986, respectively. After McDonnell Douglas, he went to work for a company called EDS. While working for EDS, he was subcontracted out to work on a project with Disney that, much to his daughters' elation, landed him a full time job with the corporation. He spent many years as Webmaster at Disney Online until he resigned and subsequently retired years later.

During his years with Disney, Steve fell in with a group of people who introduced him to FPS games. This became a tremendous hobby of his, one that led him to develop an internet gaming server called Deathcon.com. What started out as a virtual hangout for him and his gaming friends grew to reach gamers far and wide. His virtual relationships with these people became in-person friendships as he began hosting weekend LAN parties; growing a community of gamers, and inviting young people and coworkers to join in the fun.

Steve's chapter in southern California came to a close in 2008 when he learned he was going to be a Grandpa. Both of his daughters had settled in the Puget Sound area of Washington State, and he decided he wanted to be a more permanent fixture in their lives and the life of his soon to be born grandson. Many years later, It was there that Steve began a short battle with an aggressive Leukemia in November of 2019. He promised his daughters that he was going to 'fight this thing', and against all odds found himself in remission on January 30th, 2020. The aggressive treatment left him susceptible to a lung infection that landed him back at the hospital only one day later, and he passed away from complications of that infection on February 3rd, 2020.

Steve overflowed with kindness and compassion. He had an insatiable hunger for knowledge and understanding of how things worked. He was always so inspired and excited by the things he had learned and developed a calling to share that knowledge with his peers and the youth around him. We choose to remember him for that unwavering kindness, for his desire to create and to color outside the lines. For the warmth he exuded and his patience as an educator. For his appreciation of the night sky and his uncurbed enthusiasm. Steve went by many names. We knew him as an uncle, a brother, Daddy, and Poppy. But you may have known him as Steve-O, Pirkster, Orion, or Egrep. However you knew him, we're sure you knew him as a friend.

Steve is survived by his daughters, Jennifer and Laura; his grandchildren Greyson and Clara; his sister Becky, his niece Alisha and her family; his nephew Jeremy and his family; his brother Dave and his family including his nephew Mason and niece Halle; his Aunt Jean (his father's sister) and her family.

At this time, we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the staff at Harrison Hospital and St. Joseph's hospital for their exceptional care for Steve. He was nothing but grateful for their attentive care and company during his many weeks of residence during treatment.

"I am ready to meet my maker. Whether my maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter." - Winston Churchill

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