Seven weeks have passed since the young man rescued his friend from the Little Dolores River, only to lose his own life in the surging current.
His name was Stevie Burns. He was 19 years old, a Littleton resident and a Columbine High School graduate.
I never met him but know he was adored by family and friends.
And I also know this: He loved to bowl almost as much as he loved to laugh, and he was by all accounts a riotously funny guy.
So it’s appropriate that on Sunday, his family is hosting the Stevie Burns Memorial Scholarship Tournament, a bowling extravaganza at AMF Belleview Lanes at 4900 S. Federal Blvd. The event gets rolling at 11 a.m.
A $20 donation gets keglers a pair of shoes and three games. Door prizes and a DJ to boot.
With $15 of each $20 entry fee going to the college scholarship fund and 300 people expected to attend, the family hopes to raise at least $4,500.
They would like to see this become an ongoing tourney, with scholarships distributed annually to selected USBC Youth Bowlers from the AMF Belleview Junior & Prep Leagues and the Denver Metro Travel League.
“The idea came to me pretty much right after he passed,” said his mom, Michelle Burns. “I think Stevie would get a kick out of someone being able to win a Stevie Burns scholarship.”
The game runs in the family.
“We’ve been bowling most of our lives, and Stevie started when he was 3 years old,” said Sandra Becker, his grandmother. “We think this will be a wonderful way to honor his memory, and bring some good out of the tragedy.”
I never met Stevie, but I’ve met some of the people who cared about him. They invariably describe a kid who opened his arms to strangers.
And shocking as his death was, no one I’ve talked to was surprised that he jumped into the Little Dolores on May 31 when his friend Kristen Kroonenberg floundered in the unexpectedly swift and icy water. Stevie managed to get her to shore before the current swept him away to a slick cliff behind a waterfall, pinning him to the rock until he drowned.
“Stevie would do anything for a laugh and anything to help you,” Becker said. “He was a great kid. It just doesn’t seem the same without him.”
The tourney will be held on what would have been Stevie’s 20th birthday. He would likely have spent the day bowling.
Stevie had competed in leagues since childhood and carried a formidable 195 average. His high game? A 298, two pins shy of perfection.
Becker said she thinks her grandson could have made the professional circuit had he lived.
“We’re a close family and do a lot of things together,” she said. “The week before he died we got together for mini-golf. By the time it was over I was laughing so hard my sides were hurting.”
Stevie’s family is trying to move on, as families must do. But the kid with the big smile and the buzz cut stays with them.
“He picked up his first 7-10 split just a few weeks before he passed,” said Becker, recounting the hardest shot in bowling. “The 7 pin bounced off the back and took the 10 down. Everyone was yelling and hugging.
“That was Stevie.”
For more information on the event, call 303-794-4265.
William Porter writes Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at wporter@denverpost.com or 303-954-1977.
