Stephan Ebner

Stephan Robert Ebner, 59, died Tuesday, September 3, 2013 at his home in Hesperus, Colorado. Visitation will be held at Hood Mortuary Chapel on Sunday, September 8, 2013 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. A Funeral Service will be Monday, September 9, 2013 at 10:00 A.M. also at Hood Mortuary Chapel. Mr. Clyde Johnson will be officiating. Burial will occur at Greenmount Cemetery in Durango. Mr. Ebner was born August 21, 1954 in Silver Spring, Maryland the son of Mathew and Susanna (Weber) Ebner. Steve married Mary Lynne Rooney on May 18, 1974 in Hyattsville, Maryland and they moved from Maryland to Hesperus in 1999. Mr. Ebner’s fire and rescue career started in September 1970 as a volunteer in Montgomery County, Maryland and continued on to included volunteer and career positions in Frederick County, Maryland as well as a career position at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. After fulfilling a life-long dream of relocating to Colorado in January 1999, his service continued with a position at the Farmington Fire Department in Farmington, New Mexico until he accepted the position of Chief with the Fort Lewis Mesa Fire Protection District in Hesperus, Colorado. Prior to accepting the position of Chief, Steve was a volunteer with the department and served on the board of directors for the Fort Lewis Mesa Fire Protection District. On August 1, 2012, Steve retired as fire chief of the Fort Lewis Mesa Fire Protection District after a combined 42 years of service in both volunteer and career positions in Fire, Rescue and Emergency Medical Services. Steve was a fire science instructor for the University of Maryland Fire Science Program (MFRI) College Park Maryland and San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico. Steve also owned and operated a construction company that specialized in custom home building and home renovations in Frederick County Maryland for 15 years. Through the Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Medical Services, Steve lived a life-long passion of helping those in the communities in which he lived as well as passing along his talents, knowledge, and experiences to benefit those he worked with. He has always considered those he worked and served with as a part of his family. Steve cherished time with his family, especially the time spent camping and boating with his children and grandchildren, who gave him so much joy. Steve was a master woodworker who enjoyed building furniture. He also built several beautiful homes over the years for his family. “Steve liked to keep life fun and challenging and took on every endeavor with a goal to do the very best he could,” fondly recall his family. He is survived by Mary Lynne Rooney Ebner (wife) of Hesperus, Colo., Andrew Bryan (Kimberly) Ebner (son and daughter-in-law) of Aztec. N.M., Jennifer Leigh (John) Gaddis (daughter and son-in-law) of Dolores, Colo., Ty Jacob & Nathan Gaddis (grandchildren) of Dolores, Colo., Emma Lynn Ebner (another grandchild) of Aztec, N.M., Mathew Ebner (father) of Phoenix, Ariz., Matthias Ebner (brother) of Idaho Falls, Idaho, George Ebner (brother) of Colton, Ore., Bridget Gorman (sister) of Pearland, Texas, Magdalena Cunningham (sister) of Bellingham, Wash., and numerous loving in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins and extended family and friends. He was preceded in death by his mother Susanna Weber Ebner and his brother Joseph Ebner. Memorial contributions may be made in Steve’s name to: www.lls.org (Lukemia Lymphoma Society) or www.ffcancer.org (Firefighter Cancer Foundation).