James Steven Penn

James Steven Penn, known as Steve to his friends and family, grew up in a military family. Transferred often as a child due to his father’s reassignments, he lived in California, Georgia, and Colorado, settling down in Colorado as an adult. He embarked on a strange adventure as a young man, signing up to work in southern Greenland on a DYE radar base, part of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line. He worked there for 16 months before returning to the states. He was then hired by Quest Communications, now CenturyLink and previously US West, AT&T, and Mountain Bell, holding various titles in Sales, Technology, Service Delivery, Consumer Rights Advocate for the Office of the President and Marketing Management, before retiring after 25 years.

Steve was a true outdoors man, spending time hiking, biking, camping, and snowshoeing with his wife Jan who he did not meet until he was in his early 50s. His love of animals spanned from domestic dogs and cats, to squirrels, birds, deer, moose, and elk. His family wasn’t complete without one or two English Springer Spaniels, a breed introduced to him by his wife. Along with Jan he developed a love for the ocean, and they snorkeled to see many varieties of fish, crab, lobster, and were both thrilled to be able to swim with sea turtles. He received a degree in photography and loved to practice photography every chance he got on his many adventures and outings. Music of many kinds was essential to Steve’s enjoyment of life, and he had planned to learn to play the guitar after his retirement.

He is predeceased by his mother Loretta Louise Meyer Wilson and his father James Lee Penn, and survived by his wife Janette (Jan) Patton and his sister Pamela F Penn.