Steven K. Graham

Steven "Steve" Graham, age 61, of Madison, died Saturday, May 2, 2020, at his home due to metastatic melanoma. A wake service will be held at a later date.

Steve was born September 7, 1958 and grew up in Kansas and Ohio. He received his BS from the University of Kansas in 1980 and his PhD in Computer Science in 1988. While at KU he met his co-conspirator, Tammy Powell, and they married in August 1978.

Steve worked at various technology companies and start-ups in Colorado, California, and Kansas until 2004, when he and Tammy moved to Madison and he joined the faculty of Dakota State University. During his tenure at DSU, he developed the university’s game design program and was promoted to full professor in 2019.

Steve was a voracious reader, musician, and adventurer. He was Gandalf for his family and extraordinarily kind and encouraging to all he knew.

Steve is survived by his wife Tammy, daughters Abbie, Erin, and Brenna (David Boffa), and dog-son Porter. He is also survived by parents Ken and Genie, and siblings Carla, Connie, Cathy, and Scott. He is preceded in death by beloved dogs Maggie, Bailey, and Rugby.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to any of the following:

A scholarship fund for game design students at Dakota State University Foundation; B-Squad Dog Rescue in Brandon, SD; and Sioux Falls Transplant Fund at Sanford Health Foundation.

Specific hyperlinks for each organization: 

Dakota State University Foundation https://dsu.edu/giving/index.html

B-Squad Dog Rescue https://www.bsquaddogrescue.com/

Sioux Falls Transplant Fund https://www.sanfordhealthfoundation.org/

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