disease, Steen died on January 1, 2006, in Loveland, Colorado. Minnie Lee died on July 14, 1997. Their ashes were scattered at the Mi Vida mine site. Legacy Steen's legacy lives on through his four sons who were once the recipients of a $130 million fortune that their father lost after the decline of the uranium market in the late 1950s. Although Steen lost most of his fortune after the uranium crash due to poor money management and frivolous spending, he is still recognized for his Cold War contributions for supplying the United States with all of the uranium it needed for its weapons program. His story about finding the Mi Vida mine inspired two films and several books along with getting the small desert town of Moab, Utah on the map as "The Uranium Capital of the World" and the "Richest Town in America". After Steen struck it rich he requested that congress allow him to build his own mill without government funding, resulting in the only major atomic facility to be privately funded. On November 4, 2016, a historical marker commemorating the Lisbon Valley's uranium heritage and noting Charlie Steen's discovery was dedicated on the Anticline Overlook road off U.S. 191. The marker was funded entirely by private donations. Artist Michael Ford Dunton created an arch to frame the historical marker and the view to the location of the Mi Vida mine, seven miles to the east of the marker. See also Moab uranium mill tailings pile Uranium mining in Utah References Further reading External links Steen: A legend in his own time National Mining Hall of Fame inductee bio Moab Historical Museum 20th-century American geologists American mining businesspeople Utah state senators University of Texas at El Paso alumni 1919 births 2006 deaths Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Neurological disease deaths in Colorado University of Chicago alumni 20th-century American politicians People from Stephens County, Texas