Byron Steele

1935 - 2018

April 19, 1935 - January 29, 2018
Dr. Byron Phillip Steele, Jr., namesake for Byron P. Steele II High School in the Schertz- Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District (SCUCISD), passed away Monday, January 29, 2018, at the age of 82.

His vision and compassion opened opportunities for untold numbers of children across Texas and the nation. His leadership and wisdom made public education, the lives of his students, and the world better.

Byron was a champion for all children and pioneered programs to improve experiences for the nation's most at-risk youth to the most gifted and talented, and everyone in between. "He was a man for all seasons," said SCUSD ISD school board member David Pevoto. "Tough as a Texas oak but gentle as a soft breeze."


Byron was born in San Antonio, Texas, on April 19, 1935, the son of Lillian Lucille Fitzgerald Steele and Byron Phillip Steele. At a very young age, he developed a love for horses and the rugged Texas landscape. His life-long hobbies included ranching, fishing and hunting. Growing up, he enjoyed the company of his younger brother, George, a number of friends, and his many cousins who all liked to play with the toys Bryon, Sr., made for them.

After graduation from Edison High School in San Antonio in 1952, Byron enrolled in San Antonio Junior College. In May 1954, he was awarded an Associate of Arts Degree in Business with a minor in Economics. He then earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History in May 1957 from Saint Mary's University. To help pay college bills, he worked as a lifeguard and a boxer. Famous San Antonio sports writer and dear friend Dan Cook once called him, "one of the nicest guys ever to lace on a pair of boxing gloves." He lost only 2 of his 22 professional bouts.

In August 1957, Byron began his teaching career at Collins Garden Elementary in San Antonio. While balancing the challenges of the classroom, he worked late nights and long hours toward a Master of Education Degree from Our Lady of the Lake University. He achieved that goal in July 1964. One year later, he left the classroom and took a brief respite from traditional public education.
The next three years would be the only in his career not working at a Texas public school district.

From 1965 to 1968, Byron served as the director of the Bexar County Head Start Program. It was a brand new federal government idea, born out of President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty, designed to provide preschool children of low-income families with a comprehensive program to meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological needs. Byron was one of the pioneers of this program, which has since served more than 32 million children.

In 1968, Byron returned to traditional public education with new leadership skills. He put them to work as a principal at both an elementary and later a junior high school in San Antonio. His career path eventually led him to become principal of Alamo Heights High School and the high school in Dilley, Texas. From 1979 to 1981, he served as the superintendent of Malone ISD. In 1980, he earned his Doctorate of Educational Administration from East Texas State University. From 1981 to 1984, he was the superintendent of Devine ISD.

In 1984, Byron became superintendent of the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District where he stayed for the final 18 years of his nearly half-century career in education. He continues to hold the distinction of being the longest serving superintendent in the district's history.
In tribute to his years of serving the children of Texas and the students at SCUCISD, the school board members, at the request of the community, named the district's second high school after him.

Byron is preceded in death by his wife Allison Steele, his mother Lillian Lucille Steele and father Byron P. Steele, Sr. He is survived by his wife Bernadine; sons Trey (and wife Casey) and Michael; daughters Stephanie Tanner (and husband Rob), Lucy Hays, and Kim Martin (and husband Rick); brother George Steele; and 11 grandchildren.

The Steele family requests your presence for a celebration of life memorial service on Saturday, February 3, 2018, at 4:00 p.m. at Byron P. Steele II High School, 1300 FM 1103, Cibolo, Texas. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be donated by mail to the SCUC ISD Education Foundation, or to Communities in Schools of South Central Texas at: https://www.cis-sct.org/
donations.

You are invited to sign the electronic guestbook at www.schertzfuneralhome.com

Arrangements are with:
Schertz Funeral Home