David William Steele

David William Steele
A long-time resident of Santa Cruz
David William Steele died after a 2 year struggle with throat cancer May 18 in Durango, CO. He was 66.
Dave was born Sept. 6, 1945 to Dorothy and Harry Steele in Denver. He grew up in West Covina, CA and graduated from West Covina High. He played varsity tennis and was an "A" student. He graduated from college with a degree in business from Long Beach State in California.
Dave had a passion for surfing and, at 17, was swept out to sea on his surfboard, surviving a night before being rescued by a fishing boat. Dave loved to work with his hands as well as his mind, and could build or fix anything. He worked on old cars as a teenager and later had a successful construction company, Steele Construction, in Sonora.
Dave moved to Santa Cruz because of his love of the ocean, learned to program computers, then worked for UCSC and Hartnell College for many years. He continued with to build beautiful homes in the Santa Cruz area as well.
In Santa Cruz, he met and fell crazy in love with Linda Michael. On Oct. 7, 2001, Dave and Linda married in Aptos, and they shared 12 beautiful years together. The Steeles moved to Durango three years ago.
Dave enjoyed music immensely, especially blues and bluegrass, and was an excellent guitarist. Playing wicked and tasty slide guitar, he was co-lead guitarist for the locally revered band, the Ded Wailers. Dave loved to travel, visiting Costa Rica, several destinations in the U.S., 2 trips on the famous Blues Cruise in the Caribbean and numerous trips to the Steeles' second home in Sayulita, Mexico.
Dave loved beach volleyball, and for 20 years he was on the beach every Saturday morning to play. His volleyball friends remain a close-knit family of friends. He also enjoyed mountain biking, hiking, tennis and visiting friends.
Mr. Steele is survived by his wife and companion of 12 years, Linda Michael Steele, of Durango; stepchildren Kelsey Eiriksson of Portola CA, Timothy Michael, stationed at McConnell AFB in Wichita, and Heather Moffatt of Pulaski TN; sisters Joan Steele Johnson of Berkeley, Sally Steele Roubison of Calimesa CA, and Kim Steele of Richmond CA; 4 nieces and nephews and extended family members.
Cremation has occurred. A private family service will be held Saturday, June 2, 2012, in Santa Cruz.