Stephen A. Klinksiek
1954 – 2022
Dr. Stephen Alexander Klinksiek, PHD, resident of Santa Fe County, passed away peacefully in January 2022 from congestive heart failure. Born in Santa Fe in 1954, he spent much of his childhood outdoors hunting and fishing and his high school years winning golf tournaments. He graduated Del Norte High School; then Highlands University with a double major in mathematics and physics. While living in Las Vegas, Stephen owned and operated Klinksiek Chainsaw Supply, which later evolved into Klinksiek Carbide Specialties where he manufactured specialty carbide tools for New Mexico businesses. He trained horses and also worked as a gyppo logger while helping manage the family ranch and volunteered his time with Habitat For Humanity, Main Street, and the Animal Welfare League. Stephen earned his Master’s and PHD in physics from the University of New Mexico in 2005. His research was conducted at Fermi National Laboratory, Batavia, Illinois. Stephen was also involved in several physics collaborations including those at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, N.Y., and Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois. He designed and constructed ‘muon chambers’ used by the National Laboratories and did research for the Large Hadron Collider, at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. Stephen was a renaissance man with a wide range of interests and talents. An avid reader, he had a library of books in every conceivable field and genre. He was knowledgeable in many varied subjects and his inborn curiosity always made life interesting for those who knew him. Deeply compassionate, he rescued several pets throughout his life and constructed an air conditioned shelter for abandoned neighborhood cats while attending graduate school. Stephen also loved teaching and he maintained longterm friendships with both his students and his colleagues. He taught physics, astronomy and several disciplines of mathematics at Unmvalencia and CNM Community College. His legacy lives on with his wife, Elizabeth; daughters, Laurel Fisher and Alyssa Klinksiek; mother, Cornelia Compton; brother, Paul Klinksiek; grandchildren, Lucius and Mikenzi Fisher; and stepdaughter Alexis Griffiths. Stephen was preceded in death by his father, Gottfried Henry Klinksiek, B-17 pilot, Captain, Army Air Force; brother, Daniel Klinksiek, sister, Susan Klinksiek; and his beloved German Shepherd, Gretchen. Cremation services provided by Riverside Funeral Home, Albuquerque. A memorial service will be held at a future date. In lieu of flowers, donations in Stephen’s name can be made to the Animal Humane Society or any animal rescue organization.