Mr. Dirksen died June 9 in Redlands. He was 60. Mr. Dirksen, known for his Western duds, guitar plucking and cowboy poetry, considered himself a cowboy as much as a teacher.

He loved to share his roping skills with his Alvord Unified School District students in Riverside. And it was easy to identify Mr. Dirksen's class in the annual school portraits: His students wore bandanas. When Lou Gehrig's disease left Mr. Dirksen bedridden and hooked to a ventilator, his school colleagues showed up at Asistencia Villa in Redlands for a round of camp songs accompanied by guitar and harmonica.

He spent his 29-year teaching career in the Alvord Unified School District at Foothill and La Granada elementary schools and Loma Vista Middle School, all in Riverside, before he retired in 2003 for health reasons. Mr. Dirksen was diagnosed with the disease in 2002.

The marquee outside La Granada announced the sad news this week: In Loving Memory - Steve Dirksen - Friend-teacher-cowboy 1944-2005 Students would sing, write and read cowboy lore, and rope a tree stump or bench during once-a-week "cowboy" day if they had Mr. Dirksen for a teacher.

Linda Sykora, a secretary at La Granada, Mr. Dirksen and Obermeyer were known as the "three amigos" who switched schools together through the years. There was never a question when Mr. Dirksen sent a note to the office: "You always knew it was from him because he always drew a cowboy man with a hat on," Sykora said.

Known as "California Steve" on the cowboy poetry circuit, Mr. Dirksen started performing a decade ago at events and gatherings, including at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage; Big Bear; Thousand Oaks; Prescott, Ariz.; and Elko, Nev. When he was weakened by Lou Gehrig's disease, Mr. Dirksen's cowboy buddies carried him up to the stage so he could recite his poems.

Redlands firefighters spent their own time building ramps to Mr. Dirksen's Redlands home and poured a concrete slab outdoors so he could sit outside, said his wife of 37 years, Eileen Dirksen. She is an administrative analyst to the Redlands fire chief.

Mike Dirksen of Angwin said his brother loved to watch Hopalong Cassidy on a black and white television when he was a child. "He was just always fascinated by anything to do with the cowboy ethic," he said.

Born in El Dorado, Kan., Mr. Dirksen moved to California at age 12, first to Loma Linda and then Redlands, where he lived until his death. He received a bachelor's degree in history from Cal State San Bernardino.

In addition to his wife and brother, Mr. Dirksen's survivors include a daughter, Elizabeth, of Redlands; a son, Joseph, of Redlands; his mother, Eileen, of Redlands; and a sister, Kathleen Purdy, of Redlands.

Cortner Chapel in Redlands is handling arrangements. Services will be private.