Steven A. Shipe

Steven A. Shipe, age 69 of Kansas City, Missouri passed away Wednesday morning, June 21, 2023 in his home at 5262 West 116th Circle, Westminster, Colorado. A ceremony will be conducted at the Arvada Community Room 12:00PM Saturday, July 22, 2023. Any donations and/or memorial contributions can be sent to his surviving family.

Steve was preceded by his mother Jacqueline Frances McGee and John Joseph Shipe— who met in aeronautics class in Westport High School in Kansas City, MO. After John returned from WWII, they married on April 12, 1947. Steve was born on August 14, 1953 and had two brothers: the late Dwight David Shipe, and Douglas Vincent Shipe. His parents worked for the Saturn V project— Jacqueline was a research librarian, who inspired John to make his historic innovations to the rocket’s fuel power. Steve inherited their mastery of mathematics, computer sciences and physics.

Steve’s academics followed his parents’ busy careers, going in and out of various districts and states. He attended Athens Elementary School in Alabama, Concord High School and John Dickinson High School in Delaware. He was a model student: receiving The Dickinson Monogram in Scholastic Achievement, and the Bracken trophy for the best work in English composition; all while passing his classes with flying colors. However, his true passion was becoming a professional artist— an ambition that shone when in Pembroke-Country Day School. He became the cartoonist for PCD's student-led paper The Hilltop— drawing satirical political cartoons and bold collages of Snoopy and superheroes in his spare time. Unfortunately, his father detested these aspirations, so when Steve graduated with honors from Pembroke in 1971, he turned his attention to physics and astronomy as he entered college. But he never lost his artistic skills.

After college, Steve began a new life in Colorado working for IBM as a Computer Server Tech. He was a well-decorated advanced technical expert, who was given numerous certificates as a certified specialist, and for Combined DCE and DFS System Administration. By the late 90’s he met Kanyawan. They shared a budding online romance— sending letters at first— then flights Steve would take to Thailand. A year went by, and in 1998, the two married in Hawaii, making arrangements for her to move to Colorado with him. They enjoyed a long honeymoon on the SS Independence while traveling across the archipelago. Their favorite was Kauai: the fourth largest island and a garden paradise. After settling into their apartment in Westminster, Colorado, Steve and Kanyawan traveled around the mile-high state seeing all the sites. And by 1999, they signed jointly onto their house at 5262 West 116th Circle, watching it develop from a floor plan into their family home. On March 20, 2000, they had their first son: Nicholas Chanchai Shipe of Utah, a missile maintenance technician at Hill AFB (S.O. Jennifer Tran); and on March 7, 2002, Raymond Rahcha Shipe of Colorado, trainer at FedEx Ground (S.O. Kailey Carr) and expecting Sebastian Emmett.

Although busy with his full-time employment at IBM, Steve always saved time for his family. He never gave up his tradition of vacations— taking one trip a year— whether it’d be to California, Kansas and Missouri, Arizona, or Nevada by way of planes or his trusty 2003 Chevrolet Rendezvous. Steve enrolled his sons into boy scouts and other extracurricular activities, which kept them active and outdoors. He'd be there for their first popcorn drives, up to when they received the Arrow of Light; documenting everything through photos and videocam. When not on camping expeditions, or traveling the states, Steve and company would frequent libraries and parks. And on his own time, he practiced aikido and fencing. He was awarded the rank of 5th Kyu, and practiced fencing up until his mentor passed; occasionally dueling his sons with wooden swords. Of course— he allowed them to win most competitions— but he always put up a good fight.

Like his parents, Steve was a very well-read man, religiously reading novels and watching everything from The Simpsons to Alfred Hitchcock. He was determined to preserve his past, his home became his memoir: souvenirs and knick-knacks from everywhere he traveled; a lifetime of books, videotapes, CDs, DVDs all haphazardly decorating furniture; mementos from his sons' first haircuts, first baby teeth, first shoes. One of the last projects he undertook was creating a Y-DNA family tree: detailing a lineage so far it connected Westminster to Wales.

After decades of service, Steve retired from IBM in 2019. And a little earlier in 2015, Steve and Kanywan had their divorce after 17 years of marriage. However, they never stopped seeing each other: driving the kids to school and stopping by from house-to-house to spend holidays together as one family. Kanyawan made sure she only moved a block away, so the two of them could still be close. In January of 2023, Steve was diagnosed with COVID-19 and thereafter put on an oxygen generator. Kanyawan visited him every day with the assistance of their sons until his death on June 21, 2023. He was just a day away from moving into the San Marino Retirement Community. But in light of this, Steve passed in the house he loved; and united his family under the same roof, for one last time.

Thank you for your love and wisdom. Thank you for those choices you made with your heart, thank you and bless you for always being there for your family. May you rest in peace. I love you dad.

Memorial donations and/or offerings can be sent to his surviving family, at 11326 Depew Way, Westminster, CO 80020. Or alternatively, flowers can be placed outside of Steven’s residence at 5262 W 116th Cir, Westminster, CO.