Stephen "Stev" Crnkovich passed away at home on July 26, 2023 with his wife Cherryl by his side.  He was 81.

He grew up in Flagstaff, living first in the Saguaro Club, a dinner house his parents owned and then in the Museum Club when his mother, Katie, owned that.

He graduated from Flagstaff High School and went on to college at Northern Arizona University where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Master's degree in Guidance Counseling. He put himself through college by bartending at the Americana Lounge, the Gables restaurant and the Steak House.  While working at the Steak House, he developed a recipe for margaritas that was published in Gourmet Magazine.

For most of his career, he worked with at risk youth. In the early 70's, he worked at the Institute for Human Development. In 1976 he was appointed the director of the Coconino County Juvenile Rehabilitation Department.  After the county closed the facility, he was appointed the Chief Juvenile Probation Officer for Coconino County.  Later he worked for Maricopa County in the Juvenile Probation Department.

He always loved to travel.  When he was younger, he and a friend spent four months in Europe touring every non-communist country except Portugal. After he and Cherryl were married, they enjoyed traveling together.  They traveled to China, Costa Rica, three safaris in six countries in Africa and many wonderful cruises.

He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Cherryl and many loved nieces and nephews.  He loved his cats and felt strongly about saving wildlife all over the world.  If you would like to make a donation in his honor, please direct them to either the Ark Cat Sanctuary, www.arkcatsanctuary.org in Parks, AZ or the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya at www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org.

A Celebration of Life will be held at his home on Saturday, September 30 at 1:00 pm.