Gary Thomas Steele

Gary Thomas Steele passed away surrounded by his loved ones in San Mateo, California on September 1, 2023 at the age of 74. Gary was born in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up in Commack, New York. From early childhood, Gary loved playing baseball and football. He won the Hansen Award for Top Student Athlete in Long Island in 1965, was inducted into the New York State High School Hall of Fame for football and academics, and was awarded a scholarship to Georgia Institute of Technology for football and baseball. During the Vietnam War, he served as a U.S. Navy Officer in the Middle East for three years.

Gary earned an MBA from Stanford in 1975 and later acted as President of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Alumni Association. He entered the business world in 1975 when Silicon Valley was emerging as an epicenter of innovation. He first worked for McKinsey & Co and discovered he could use his business knowledge to help scientists create ground-breaking products. He left McKinsey to become an early officer at Genentech, an industry leader in the development of new therapeutic drugs. Gary then served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the start-up biosensor technology company Molecular Devices Corporation. For the ensuing two and a half decades, he held roles as CEO and Chairman of the Board at the Landec Corporation. Gary led Landec through its initial public offering in 1996. Under Gary's leadership, Landec was noted numerous times as the fastest growing company in Silicon Valley. Gary retired from Landec in 2015.

Gary demonstrated his commitment to service by contributing his time and expertise to many worthy causes. For many years, he served on the non-profit boards of Carmel Valley Manor, a life care retirement facility, and Partners in School Innovation. In recent years, he also served on the boards of two other non-profits, Gladstone Institutes, a biomedical research institution, and The California Academy of Sciences.

Gary's greatest joy was his family. Gary and Nancy were married in 1989 and established a blended family, each bringing two daughters from a prior marriage. Gary loved playing hide-and-seek and finding secret pirate treasures with his grandchildren. He loved practical jokes and silly costumes. Fiercely loyal, Gary cultivated individual friendships and groups of friends, having an indelible and positive impact on others' lives. He was known for generously giving his time, resources, and counsel whenever needed, always engaging with those in his presence. He will be remembered for his laughter and love of life.

Gary is survived by his wife of 34 years, Nancy Steele, his daughters, Julie Patnaude (Peter Braslis), Delaney Steele Stoval (Shawn Stoval), Laura Robblee (John Robblee) and Kerianne Steele (Manuel Boigues), his seven grandchildren, and his sister Debbie Denny.

A celebration of Gary's life will be held on September 20, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. at the Episcopal Church of St. Matthew, located at One South El Camino Real, San Mateo, CA 94401.

In lieu of flowers, Gary's family would welcome a donation in his honor to The California Academy of Sciences: https://www.calacademy.org/support-the-academy or Gladstone Institutes: https://gladstone.org/make-a-gift.