Stephen ”Steve” Trujillo

Stephen “Steve” Trujillo, of Albuquerque, passed away on July 14, 2025. He was pre-deceased by his parents, Longinos “LC” and Oralia Trujillo, his eldest brother, Carlos, and a younger brother, Jeffrey. He is survived by his sister-in-law, Dolores Trujillo, and brothers, Wayne (and Diane) of Windsor CO, Longinos Jr, and Mark. He is also survived by an uncle, Frank Montoya, an aunt, Mela Montoya, and by numerous nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, and grand-nephews.

A Manzano High School graduate, Steve served in the United States Army during the Vietnam era; first as an Infantryman (11B) in the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (the rapid deployment Parachute Infantry Battalion) in the 82nd Airborne Division. Never one to shy away from challenges, he then served as an Armor Calvary Scout (19D) in Europe where, as a member of 1st squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, he carried a 50-pound M-60 machine gun in addition to his own ruck pack. He was later assigned to a platoon whose primary mission was to conduct Border Operations along the Fulda Gap. After his military service Steve returned to Albuquerque, first working as a truck driver, then with the Veterans Administration’s Food Services, and finally as a Bernalillo County employee.

Steve was a man whom one could depend. He enjoyed motorcycles and although not very sociable, he was social. He had a good heart, a soft spot for Veterans, and a deep love for the Bible. A Devout Catholic, he regularly attended Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church. He graduated from Our Lady of the Assumption elementary school after having attended since first grade.

Members of the family will greet relatives and friends at the Trujillo Funeral Home Chapel, 110 Alvarado Drive SE from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM on Tuesday, July 29, the Rosary is planned to begin at 8:00 pm. On Wednesday, July 30, at 11:00 AM, the Requiem Mass will be said at Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church. On Thursday, July 31, at 2:00 PM, Steve’s burial, with military funeral honors, will be conducted at Santa Fe National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations in Steve’s memory be made to Our Lady of Assumption Catholic School’s Elementary Tuition Fund.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the compassionate professionals at

Trujillo Family Funeral Home

"Our Family Serving Yours"

AT THE ROSARY

Good Evening

On behalf of Steve’s siblings, Longinos Jr., Mark, and Myself and our families, thank you for taking the time to join us in saying goodbye to our brother, Steve.

I am going to take a couple of minutes to share with you some thoughts about who he was and what he accomplished.

I’ll begin with a quick background then share how I will keep him in my memory.

STEVE’s BACKGROUND

Steve was born 3rd out of 6 brothers born to our parents “LC” and Oralia Trujillo. Just like the Smothers Brothers, he was always Mom’s favorite. Now many may say that parents do not have a favorite offspring. And this may be true in most cases, but not in this case. Of course I’m not bitter about it at all…right.

Like many brothers, Steve and I enjoyed a quiet upbring. We wrestled each other, watched TV, wrestled, played outside, wrestled, threw rocks at each other, and had quiet time where we wrestled quietly.

Steve attended Our Lady of Assumption Elementary School from grades 1 through 8. He was a favorite of both the lay teachers and the Nuns. Don’t roll your eyes. Opps, I wasn’t supposed to say that out loud.

I was surprised of his friendships with the Nuns. I know this because he would often have one-on-one sessions with many of them, both during and after school hours. Steve was active in sports and was very skilled in baseball. He made many personal friends during his elementary years and many of these friendships lasted throughout his lifetime.

Steve’s time in High School was somewhat uneventful. He often worked, not at his studies but at local restaurants. He was already working when he turned 16 and when he obtained his driver’s license, Mom and Dad were very proud. Did I mention he was my Mom’s favorite?

STEVE’S MILITARY SERVICE

Shortly after High School graduation, Steve joined the Army. Most will remember that Vietnam was still a thing. He served two separate enlistments.

In his first enlistment Steve was assigned, as an Infantry soldier, to the 2d Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division. Their motto was “H-minus” which reflected their rapid deployment mission. Steve’s unit would have 2 hours to get ready, load onto a plane, and then have to parachute jump whenever the airplane doors opened. They never knew what they were jumping into, how long, or where!

During his POW (Prisoner of War) training, one of the instructors told him that if he were ever captured, he probably would not survive because of his stubbornness.

During one of their training deployment exercises, his unit even supported the training of West Point cadets. And NO, he DID NOT TRAIN ME…I was already a senior when he was there.

In Steve’s second enlistment he was assigned as a Cavalry Scout to the 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. He qualified as a Jungle warfare expert and weapons qualified with the M-60 machine gun. He had to carry the almost 50-pound fully loaded machinegun along with his normal ruck sack.

Later, when conducting border operations along the Germany-Russia border, he commanded an Armored Fighting Vehicle (AFV). One time he caused quite a stir when, during an alert exercise, he led his platoon up to the border…literally-up to the actual border. This caused a lot of commotion in the Russian outposts.

It was this second enlistment, when he suffered a leg injury during a training exercise. He carried shrapnel in his leg for the remainder of his life; earning him a disability rating.

KEEPING STEVE IN OUR MEMORY

I use word association to remember things. For instance, when I think of my brother Carlos, I always remember the words “Second Chances” and “Children”. When I think of my brother Jeff, I always remember the words “Dimples, Dancing, and Dallas”.

And now, I will remember my brother Steve with the words “Dependability, Discipline, and Devotion.” Dependability, Discipline, and Devotion.

Steve’s Dependability

When Steve said he would do something, he did it. Many came to depend on him for rides…rides to the laundry, to the grocery store, to Doctor’s appointments, etc. I often told him that many were abusing his kindness. He didn’t care because he had already told them that he would do it.

If Steve liked you, you could depend on him to “have your back.” One time in High School, there was an incident involving troublemakers who had me in their sights. One day in an adjacent parking lot, it all came to a head and Steve was right there beside me. I am glad he liked me that day.

When Steve worked with Veteran Affairs Food Services, they would often depend on him to work on short notice. They often demanded he work back-to-back-to back shifts. I know that he finally had enough when he quit and started working with Bernalillo County. He felt bad because he enjoyed meeting the Veterans, but he finally had had enough.

When he worked with Bernalillo County, he kept his vehicles well maintained. Steve was one employee whom management could depend to work without supervision. Steve did not like doing nothing. He could be depended on to work, and work hard. He liked to work.

One of the most important things I depended on him to do was watch over our parents. I really didn’t have to ask him to do it, he just did it. He did it on weekends and on week days, after showering after work, Steve was a regular at their dinner table.

Being dependable was one of Steve’s primary character traits.

Steve was Disciplined

Steve was disciplined, regimented. He was always that way.

For instance, when Steve was young he was fascinated with body building and Jack LaLane. Since he always wanted to be a body builder, he knew eggs were good for the body so he always wanted them for breakfast. And not just one egg, nooo he had to have two. And my Mom said it was ok. (And you don’t think he wasn’t the favorite?)

Two eggs, every day, every week, every month. He was very disciplined about his diet. He kept up his two-eggs-a-day diet for many years. Later when he returned to Albuquerque, he replaced his two-eggs-a-day diet with a tamales and breakfast burritos diet.

Steve was quite disciplined, for a guy, when it came to keeping his place clean. One could describe him as being a fanatic when it came to cleaning. He did not like dirt or being dirty. He also hated needles and hospitals but that is another story.

You could also say Steve was disciplined because he always kept to his routine. Whether it was his religious routine (same pew, same mass), work-out routine (daily at noon), or wake up routine (7 am every morning), he was a disciplined individual.

Devotion

The third word that keys my memory of Steve is devotion. Now when I say devotion, what I mean is that Steve was a man who was ardently dedicated and loyal to things.

The first thing that comes to mind is how devoted he was to family, namely to our Dad and to our Mom. Did I mention he was Mom’s favorite?

All kidding aside, Steve was dutiful, faithful, and really, really loved our parents. He would do anything for them and truly enjoyed being with them.

The second thing about Steve was that he was keenly devoted to our Veterans. It didn’t matter whether the Veteran was from the Army, the Air Force, the Marines, or the Coast Guard -- he had a soft spot for Veterans. He even respected and was kind to Navy Veterans. Steve seemed to enjoy talking with Veterans and I believe he had some type of intrinsic bond with them.

The third, and most important, thing about Steve was that he was profoundly dedicated to the Bible. Especially in these past couple of decades, he loved reading the Bible…and preaching too. Almost always when we talked, regardless of topic, he would somehow introduce something that he had read in the bible. He took much of what he read to heart. This was especially evident when he quoted, as he often did, the Leviticus 19:27 passage about not shaving one’s beard.

As many of you know, Steve had not shaved in many, many years. He would be so angry if he knew how his beard was cut during this last surgery.

When I asked him to comb or trim his beard, he never would. All he would do is chuckle. I could have knocked him on the side of his head. Of course, it doesn’t matter anymore.

So these are the “three Ds” that will help me remember Steve. D for Dependability (he did what he said he would do), D for Discipline (he was organized and regimented), and D for Devotion (Devotion to family, to Veterans, and to the Bible).

One Last Thing

Steve was a conundrum.

To most it seemed like Steve did not like being around people. He was reclusive and he was very uncomfortable having to approach a group of people (even when he knew everybody).

But the reality was that Steve really liked talking with people. It just had to be on his own terms. It had to be one-on-one in a near-empty room or along the back wall in the rear of a crowded room, or in a parking lot.

I, like so many others, will miss Steve. He was my brother and he was my friend. And yeah, I’ll say it…he was a favorite son.

May he rest in Peace.

May God Bless and watch over you and your families.

Again, The Trujillo Brothers and their Families thank everyone for joining us this evening.

Good Evening