Grampa Steve, 1925-2021

My grandfather, Steve Bechtel Jr., passed away one week ago, and much has already been beautifully said about what a great man he was. I want to honor him from a more personal perspective and celebrate that he was a wonderful grandfather and a superhero of a role model.

I am so grateful to have had so much time with Grampa Steve, as I knew him. As I was growing up, he had a major, positive influence on my values and character, something he did for so many people.

Asked to reflect on his success in the Spring 1996 edition of Daedalus, the journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he wrote: “I believe the most important measure of ‘business success’ should be personal satisfaction from the constructive accomplishments of an individual and/or a team.”

He believed the pinnacle of happiness was the satisfaction of a job well done in all aspects of one’s life, which was amplified and even more satisfying when working as a part of a team on big, tough problems. He believed in this as the guiding principle for one’s life work, whatever the purpose. The common theme to earning Grampa’s admiration and encouragement was the deep competence and enjoyment that comes with putting in the work to perfect your craft in whatever field you had the most passion for. It didn’t matter if you were a young outdoorsman, an artist, an educator, a conservationist, or a Bechtel engineer — if you did the work, built competence, made a positive impact, and wanted to keep getting better, he had your back.

Many have written about his more serious and disciplined side — he was a numbers-savvy Marine Corps engineer who did calisthenics every morning! — but Grampa’s irrepressible grin would take over his whole face when he was really happy, which was often. You can see it above in the picture of the two of us. I remember him smiling like that at our Bechtel Family Picnics, where the company would host a day-long picnic for Bechtel employees and their families. He loved Bechtel’s people and their families like they were part of our extended family. He believed there was no problem that the right team of Bechtel people couldn’t figure out, and when they did, that really made him smile. These company picnics felt like a big extended family reunion to him, and I remember him walking around grinning from ear to ear the whole time.

My favorite image of my grandfather is the one above; a young man, early in his career and in the field, the personification of vigor and optimism as he collaborated in a field trailer with his Bechtel teammates to overcome a thorny construction challenge in a faraway place. When this picture was taken, his father, “Steve Sr.,” would have been back at HQ in San Francisco or maybe on a plane somewhere to meet with customers, but “Steve Jr.” was working his tail off and having the time of his life, thousands of miles from “the headshed” earning his competence and credibility in the field on tough projects. He was right where he wanted to be, and you can see it on his face. I remember the first time I saw this photo as a kid and instantly said to myself, “I want to be that guy when I grow up!” I didn’t learn until later that it was my Grampa Steve.

In my childhood, the majority of our time together was spent on a ranch, in the mountains, in the woods, in a marsh, or on a trout stream. He always role-modeled a humility grounded in his connection with and responsibility for the land, water, and wildlife we all depend on.

I will miss you, Grampa Steve, but I am so grateful to have shared 40 years with you. I have never been prouder to be your grandson. Rest in peace, Grampa. I know you are up there, grinning as you reflect on a life’s work well done and the satisfaction of having enabled the success of so many.

To learn more and share any memories you have of working with Steve Jr., check out our tribute site at bechtel.com/stephen-bechtel-jr