June 5, 1940 – April 19, 2022

Hubert Joseph Stecklein, age 81, passed away on April 19, 2022, in Denver, Colorado. He was a long-time resident of Rifle, Colorado, before retiring to Silt, Colorado, and later moving to Denver to be closer to his children.

Hubert was born in Quinter, Kansas on June 5, 1940. He was the son of Peter Jacob Stecklein and Helen Marie Hein, descendants of the Volga Germans who emigrated from the Volga Region of Russia into central Kansas in 1876 and founded the town of Munjor, Kansas. He was the eighth of thirteen children born to Peter and Helen. The house in Kansas the Stecklein family lived in is what is known as a sod house. It had no electricity, no running water, and no indoor toilet. Hubert did not experience the luxury of life with electricity until the family moved to Denver, Colorado, when he was 8 years old. The Stecklein family eventually relocated to the Missouri Heights area outside Carbondale, Colorado, to farm and ranch. It was in the surrounding area of Glenwood Springs that Hubert made a life and worked as a carpenter up and down the Roaring Fork Valley. He married Linda Bebell in 1974, and they had three children together before divorcing in 1985.

Hubert very much enjoyed hunting, fishing, and camping in his younger days (he was particularly fond of the Flat Tops Wilderness, especially Trappers Lake). He spent most of his retirement years keeping up with the day’s news and traveling the world virtually on the internet. In June 2019, Hubert and his daughter Kate enjoyed a trip to Munjor, Kansas to see the town their ancestors helped found.

Hubert is preceded in death by his parents and siblings Edward, Bernadine, Donald, Gerald, Vernon, Roger, Kenneth and Helen Louise, who passed away only after a few weeks of being born. He is survived by his son Neal Stecklein of Salida, Colorado, son Brian Stecklein of Denver, and daughter Kate Stecklein of Denver. He is also survived by his sisters Kathleen (John) Capriotti and Mary Ann (John) Wynn of Denver, brother Charles Stecklein of Kingman, Arizona, and brother William (Alvina) Stecklein of Grand Junction, Colorado and various nieces and nephews.

Hubert was described by many who knew him as a “character” whose humor, frankness, and kind heart will be missed. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 11, from 2pm to 4pm at A Community Gathering Place located at 6510 South Broadway, Littleton, Colorado 80121. For more details, please see the Neptune Society Obituaries website: https://obituaries.neptunesociety.com/obituaries.