Harvey J. Steele

Harvey J. Steele

Harvey J. Steele, 60, of Sylvania, Ohio, was surrounded by laughter and love at Flower Hospital, where he passed away on December 28.

Harvey, who had a self-proclaimed "face for radio", was lucky enough to get paid for doing what he loved. When he was a toddler, Harvey created a pretend radio station out of a cardboard box. In elementary school, Harvey and his father built a fully functioning transmitter, which allowed him to broadcast live from his bedroom on his licensed radio station, WOW. When he was 12 years old, he began his radio career by reading the news on Eastern Illinois University's campus radio station. He went on to call play-by-play of his high school sports teams, spun Top 40 hits in college, and advanced to Program Director at a country music station after college. Then, in 1981, Harvey was hired as an on-air personality at WTOD in Toledo, where he expected to stay for two years before moving to a bigger market. But Toledo became home. After 13 years at WTOD, Harvey moved down the hall of the Cumulus Toledo building to K-100, where he and Gary Shores partnered together to make 23 years of radio magic as Shores & Steele. Together, Harvey and Gary earned a Country Music Association Award for on-air personalities in a medium market in just their second year as a duo.

Harvey was thankful that his listeners/friends and K-100 gave him a platform to make his mark on the community. He volunteered countless hours for numerous organizations, but the one closest to his heart was Life Connection of Ohio, the non-profit organization that promotes and facilitates organ donation. Harvey was a liver transplant recipient, and his work in spreading the word about organ, eye and tissue donation created a life-saving ripple effect that knows no end. Harvey's efforts even earned him the United Network for Organ Sharing's prestigious National Donor Memorial Award for Excellence in 2016. Harvey was forever grateful to Elmer, a high school electronics teacher from southern Ohio, whose liver gave Harvey 20 more years of life. The only time Harvey was at a loss for words was when he was in a room full of donor families – he always said they were heroes for their selflessness in supporting their loved one's incredible generosity.

One place Harvey was not at a loss for words was The Huntington Center, where he loved attending Toledo Walleye games with his daughter, Kara. (And let's not forget his memorable appearances at the Sports Arena for the Toledo Storm games.) Harvey could often be heard giving a one-liner to the opposing team's players to rile them up a bit. Those actions were sometimes caught on the "Harvey Cam", which was featured on many BCSN broadcasts of the Toledo Walleye games.

In addition to radio and hockey, Harvey loved dogs, airports, The History Channel, documentaries, potatoes in any form, pork products, Monical's Pizza, Extra sugar-free gum and Purell. Harvey was quick-witted, goofy, generous and could belt out a mean version of "Cheeseburger in Paradise" or "Jeremiah was a Bullfrog" on command. Harvey was a friend to everyone, and truly one of the good guys.

Harvey is survived by many close friends, coworkers and family members, including daughters, Kara Steele and Allison (Brittanie) Kuhr; and their mother, Mary Beth Steele; sister, Janet (Paul) Twigg; Deb Jovanovic and her daughters, Nicci Harris and Heidi Sawers. Harvey was preceded in death by his parents, Sidney and Harriett Steele.

Honorary pallbearers include Gary Shores, Mark "Mookie" Andrews, Jim Krasula, Bill Manders, Cliff Smithers, Craig Snyder, Jeff Shetzer, London Mitchell, Aaron Kloshen, Tammy "Tamarita" Corisis, Amy Davis, Heather Klingensmith, Jayne Howard, Dan Wiggett, Justin Breen and Jake Westhoven.

Harvey's family would like to thank his team of doctors, including Dr. Edward Ruszkiewicz, Dr. William Carey, Dr. James Mayes, Dr. Thomas Cox and Dr. Thomas Colturi. Special thanks also goes out to the Flower Hospital nursing staff, who gave outstanding, compassionate care for Harvey and his family in Harvey's last few days, including Bernadine, Stacey, Erin, Erin Elizabeth, Becky, Jerome, Danielle and Lani, just to name a few.

In lieu of flowers, Harvey's family asks that donations be made to The Harvey J. Steele Memorial Fund through the Toledo Community Foundation. To make a gift online, please visit www.toledocf.org and designate "The Harvey J. Steele Memorial Fund". Checks can be made out to "The Harvey J. Steele Memorial Fund" and sent to the Toledo Community Foundation at 300 Madison Avenue, Suite #1300, Toledo, OH 43604.

A celebration of Harvey's life will be held on Wednesday, January 3, from 12 – 8 p.m. at Walker Funeral Home (5155 W. Sylvania Ave., Toledo). Condolences may be shared with the family online at walkerfuneralhomes.com.

As Harvey would say, "DATS IT!"

www.walkerfuneralhomes.com



View the online memorial for Harvey J. Steele