Honoring Robert Lee Steele
Robert passed away on January 23, 2022 with his family by his side in Lakewood, Co. He was 82 years of age.
He is preceded in death by his loving wife Natalie Steele, grandson Evan Ritter, parents Alvin and Fern Steele, Sister Cleo Giffin, his grandparents Mary and Alvin Steele, his treasured “kissing” and double cousins that he grew up with, along with other aunts and uncles he was fond of. Bob came from a large, close Catholic family.
He is survived by his daughters Jill Kerry Steele and Tracey Lynne Anne Ritter, son Jason John Henry Steele, grandchildren Alexandra (Lexi) Maquel Doig, Tori Jane Ritter, Evan James Steele, Caidin Grace Steele, Elijah Marcus Timothy Steele, Kyra Ness-Lanckriet, Isabelle Missimer, Gabriella Missimer and great grandchildren Lennox Robert Doig and Natalie Aewyn Doig.
Robert (Bob) was born on January 17, 1940 in Clearfield, South Dakota. He was second to the oldest of his three brothers, Dwight Steele, Jack Steele and Mitch Steele and two sisters, Cleo Giffin, and Shelley Steele. The family moved to Greeley, Co. to own and operate “Steele’s Market” in 1953. This is when Bob met Natalie where they went to high school together. The two were married on April 15, 1961 at Saint Peters Catholic church. They have three children, Jill, Tracey and Jason, and several grandchildren.
Bob had several nicknames some of included dad, daddy, papa, The Lion, Stud, Bobby (used particularly by his family when he was growing up in Clearfield, SD.). To his children, our dad was always there for us in good times and bad. He was the rock of the family - dependable, loyal, honest and someone we always looked up to with trust and respectfulness. He was a teaching dad – showing us how to take care of our cars, the importance of work and earning our own income. One of the most important lessons our dad taught us is how to be a good person to someone you love. He exemplified this by showing us what a good husband he was to his wife Natalie. They were always working together on home projects, cooking together in the kitchen, shopping together at Kohl’s (because that’s where our mom wanted him to go with her!) and of course going to garage sales as mom would coax him to go with her. We witnessed my dad’s endearing qualities as he would do anything for our mom, his lucy, and this included taking care of her needs, especially when her health started to decline.
As his children, we all looked up to our dad and knew that whatever advice he would offer was “sacred.” What is admired most are some of the words he would use to inspire our daily living such as, enthusiasm and make a plan, work a plan. He always demonstrated a positive attitude to look on the bright side of things, and he showed this in his daily work schedule. Dad was organized and always made a favorable and lasting impression on the people he would meet, whether it was in his successful selling career, or in his friendships with others or just to lend a helping hand to someone in need. He was the most likeable guy in the world and everyone who knew him could see his sense of integrity, kindness and relatability toward others. Our dad learned how to be the loving person that he was from his upbringing and devout family ties. Did we mention that he could become emotional very easily?– especially when talking about his family. Dad would often find himself getting “choked up” at family gatherings because of the love he felt for all of us. We appreciated this quality about our dad, and it made all of us continue to realize that “family is everything.”
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