Remembering Steve Price: Wyoming Cowboy, Auctioneer And Money-Raising ‘Legend’

Steve Price was a real Wyoming cowboy, auctioneer, ranch manager, and generous friend to Cheyenne people and causes. Those who knew him say it will be hard to replace him. The 70-year-old died while visiting family in Dundee, Michigan, on May 4. A celebration of his life is planned for Saturday at the Archer Event Center in Cheyenne.

Price’s son Brady said his dad was first and foremost a cowboy who grew up in Sedgwick, Colorado, on a ranch where his grandparents raised cattle, buffalo, and elk. That led to his love of rodeo. “When he was younger, he did darn near everything he could, calf rope, team rope, rode broncs, rode bulls,” Brady said. “All the way through life he loved team roping.” During his ranching career, he managed several ranches, including the Wyoming Hereford Ranch, and for the last 21 years was with the Warren Ranch.

One cowboy story Brady said his dad loved sharing was about being hired in 1985 to go to an island 135 miles southwest of Kodiak Island, Alaska, to round up feral cattle descended from cattle brought from Russia. “My dad and his good friend went out there on that island and spent quite a few months gathering cattle,” Brady said. “They had to build corrals and everything to get it done. He always had that sense of adventure.”

Stepdaughter Amy Smith called him “larger than life and very funny.” She said, “Finding the right words to describe him is almost impossible because he was a staple in his community and to ranching and other cowboys. He was a mentor to so many.”

Price joined the Wyoming State Fair Board in 2018 at its inception as the agricultural representative and most recently as vice chair. Fair spokesperson Dakota Provence said he played an instrumental role in launching the annual Endowment Auction. Fair General Manager Courtny Hinds said, “I was incredibly fortunate to work alongside him over the years. He led by example, treated everyone with kindness and humility, and was always willing to step in and help wherever needed. Steve never sought recognition for what he helped build.” Board Chairman Shawn Steffen called Price “one of the finest human beings I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing.”

Auctioneer Bryan “Alf” Grzegorczyk, who started Cheyenne’s Thankful Thursdays that has raised $4.5 million for nonprofits, said when Price began volunteering, his “pizzaz” made the event “100 times better.” He introduced Price as “the legend.” Fellow auctioneer Randy Burtiss said Price mentored him and described him as a true cowboy. He recalled a Price interview where he said he measured his wealth “not in money, but in friends.” Burtiss added, “I don’t know anybody who wasn’t his friend.”

Cheyenne Animal Shelter Director Niki Harrison said Price served as auctioneer for the Fur Ball for years. “Even though he was there to do the job of an auctioneer, the connections he could make with people made it so that people wanted to engage with Steve,” she said. Cheyenne Regional Medical Center Foundation Executive Director Scott Fox said Price helped raise funds at Denim & Diamonds for 10 years and had committed to do the next one in November. “He cared just not about our cause, but all the causes that he supported, and they were so many.” Price never accepted payment for his services.