Robert Steele

Robert Wilmer Steele, 84, of Boise, Idaho passed away peacefully on the evening of September 23rd, 2025. He was passionate about the great outdoors, the study of forest health, and the propagation of conifers.

Bob was born on February 26, 1941 in Norristown, Pennsylvania to Robert Harvey Steele and Naomi (Marple) Steele. He grew up in the rural community of Worchester Township, Pennsylvania and graduated from Norristown High School in 1959. After graduation he immediately began pursuing his love of horticulture by completing a certificate of horticulture from Penn State University and working at local nurseries.

He first moved out west in 1962 to join a US Forest Service Hotshot Crew for firefighting based in John Day, Oregon. He would spend his days patrolling rugged and remote terrain and fondly recalled that when visiting town, he could still receive silver dollars in his pocket change. These early experiences undoubtedly helped solidify his love and nostalgia for the west.

In 1963 he enlisted with the US Army, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne). He expected to be sent to fight in Vietnam but was stationed in Bad Tölz, Germany, where he spent three years training as a paratrooper and as a radioman specializing in Morse code.

After being honorably discharged, he used the GI Bill to complete a B.S. in Forestry (1969) and M.S. in Forest Ecology (1971) at the University of Idaho. This launched his career as a research forester with the US Forest Service at the Intermountain Research Station in Boise, Idaho, where he focused on habitat type classifications of plant communities in the intermountain west. He went on to publish dozens of articles and technical reports on forest ecology and plant communities.

Bob was an accomplished woodsman capable of producing a stringer of trout from almost any mountain stream and he regularly harvested elk and deer with his bow and rifle. Unfortunately, he was also known to produce dubious batches of jerky from the leftover meat of his big game.

His graduate research took him to the N. Fork of the Clearwater River just after construction of Dworshak Dam was completed, which resulted in him racing ahead of the rising water levels of the reservoir to document plant communities before they were inundated.

His passion for native plants led him to become a charter member of the Idaho Native Plant Society (INPS) and he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the inauguration of the Pahove (Boise) Chapter of the INPS in 1978.

After "retiring" from the USFS, he opened the Conifer Corner Tree Farm in Eagle, Idaho. He specialized in propagating species and varieties of conifers that would grow well in the climate of the Treasure Valley. Many of his trees were used in landscaping during the construction boom during the 2010s.

He finally closed his business and retired a few years ago after a decline in health due to Parkinson's disease. Bob is survived by his younger brother Dave, his son Craig, daughter-in-law Maria, and grandson Alan.