Niwot Rotary President-Elect dies after in-home attack

When Steven Craig joined the Rotary Club of Niwot shortly after building a home on Portico Lane in the Ranch at Clover Basin subdivision two years ago, he didn’t waste any time in making a difference. Sadly, Craig, who was recently chosen as President-Elect for the club, will not have a chance to serve in that position.

Craig was attacked in his home on Dec. 19 in the middle of the night, and died of his injuries Dec. 24. Michael Lucky, 32, turned himself in to the Boulder County Sheriff’s office and was arrested and charged with first-degree murder – after deliberation, first-degree assault with a deadly weapon, first-degree burglary – menacing/assault, two counts of stalking and three counts of violating a protection order.

Court records show that an action for dissolution of marriage was filed Sept. 6, 2023, in Weld County District Court by Craig’s daughter against Lucky. Records also show a domestic violence case filed against Lucky on Nov. 14, 2023, a criminal public peace and order case filed Dec. 6, 2023, and a protection order violation case filed Dec. 8, 2023, all in Boulder County.

Members of the Niwot Rotary were shocked and saddened at Craig’s death. Wick Rowland, president of the club, said, “Steven was very much a Rotarian — almost the ideal type. In two short years he had become a central player in the club. He had overhauled and upgraded our entire communications systems, he ran our major peaches sales program this past year, our biggest fundraiser, and he was involved in nearly every important other aspect of the club’s internal operations and external service work. His role had become so important that in just the week before the attack he had been elected President-Elect.”

Rowland described Craig’s death as a huge loss. “It’s going to take three to four people to pick up on all that he had been doing. His death also has come as a bewildering, nearly unfathomable shock to the club. Very few have been through something this horrific and it’s going to take a good while for folks to sort it out.”

Part of Craig’s work involved upgrading the audio-visual system at the Grange Hall in Niwot, where the Rotary Club meets. The Rotary was interested in using the system for their meetings, and Craig stepped up to assist Grange president Jim Dorvee with the vendor process.

"Steven assisted us with the design and vendor selection of the new Left Hand Grange audio/visual system,” Grange president Jim Dorvee said. “During the time I worked with Steven, his passion for volunteerism and his love for this community shone through. If his life had not tragically ended too soon, he would have continued to have made a meaningful contribution to making the world, or at least our little corner of it, a better place for all."

Dorvee noted that the company that was chosen for the installation of the system at the Grange had also set up cameras at Craig’s home, and the footage was pulled to help authorities with the murder case.

Marty Wehr, who helped start the Rotary Club of Niwot in 2008, Kerrin Reichen, previous club president, and Mary Colwell, immediate past president of the club, gathered last weekend to pay tribute to Craig. The three, who are also members of the board of directors of the Rotary Club of Niwot Foundation, issued a statement saying, “The Rotary International Motto is ‘Service Above Self.’ Steven Craig joined our Club two short years ago, and in every moment of his membership, this motto was consistently present in all of his actions and representations of the club. Steven had an incredible sense of humor and a strong ethical barometer. We could all take a leaf from Steven's book.”

In addition to chairing the peach sales fundraiser, and serving as Communications Committee chair, Craig served as a member of the Rotary Club of Niwot board of directors, the Duck Race Committee and the Survey Review Committee, as well as organizing a See’s Candy fundraiser and serving as champion of the club’s OUR Center service projects.

Craig, who was Rotary Club of Niwot Rookie of the Year for 2021-22, also participated in the club’s other activities in Niwot, including the annual Dictionary Project and Read Across America program at Niwot Elementary School; student awards, scholarships, and youth summer camps at Niwot High School; the RCN Rock & Rails tip jar booth; the Round Pantry; Niwot’s Oktoberfest; and the Niwot Firehouse painting project.