Peter Steele

1926 - 2015

Peter Steele

Peter Steele was born on January 11, 1926 near Vermillion, Alberta. He was the second of four children born to Maude Florence (Elmhirst) and Erastus Lyman Steele.

Having gone to a one-room schoolhouse, and with no high school education, Peter served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, including a brief stint in England at the end of WWII. He went on to earn a B.S. in Dairy Bacteriology at the University of British Columbia and an M.S. in Agriculture at Washington State College. Upon graduating, Peter moved to Seattle and became a US citizen. He worked for 34 years at Carnation Fresh Milk and Ice Cream Company where he held positions including Quality Control Director and Milk Plant Superintendent.

Peter met his sweetheart, Mary Jane Ferguson, at a Skandia folk dance and they married on July 9, 1960.

An avid mountain climber with the Washington Alpine Club and Mountaineers, Peter summited every major peak in Washington and Oregon. He was a dedicated skier through age 86 and served on the volunteer ski patrol at Ski Acres for 15 years. He also thoroughly enjoyed square dancing, camping, travelling, and tinkering with mechanical/electrical inventions in his home shop.

After living a fulfilling life, Peter passed away June 29, 2015 surrounded by his loving family. He is survived by Mary Jane, his sister Barbara McGillvray of Surrey, BC, his daughter Diane (Dick) Sine of Bigfork, MT, his son David (Danielle) Steele and daughter Dana (Michael) Korch, both of Seattle, and his adoring grandchildren: Benjamin, Elena, and Annalise Korch; Tara and Emmett Steele; Kim McKeown, and Michael and Stephen Sine. He was predeceased by his sister Patricia Megaw of Vernon BC and brother Ken Steele of Edmonton, AB.

A celebration of Peter's wonderful life will be at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 16 at The Mountaineers, 7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle 98115. Remembrances may be made to a charity of your choice.