Obit of Steele Jr, William (s340) - Unknown County, Oklahoma Submitted by: Gene Phillips 18 Aug 2004 Return to Unknown County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/okstate.html ========================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ========================================================================== WILLIAM STEELE JR. Published on January 22, 1998 The Santa Rosa Press Democratt William Alvin Steele Jr., who helped design many well-known buildings in Santa Rosa during a 35-year career as an architect, died Sunday of cancer at the age of 77. During Steele's 30-year partnership with John van Dyk, their Steele & van Dyk architecture firm designed several Santa Rosa school and government buildings, churches and the Redwood Empire Ice Arena. The partners, who retired in 1985 about six months before van Dyk's death at the age of 68, designed several buildings at SRJC, including Emeritus Hall, the math building, the swim center, the chemistry building, and the life science building. Steele and van Dyk also designed three junior high schools in Santa Rosa - - Cook, Rincon Valley and Comstock, several elementary schools and four buildings at the Sonoma County Administration Center. They designed a four-story addition to Community Hospital, known now as Sutter Medical Center, Santa Rosa. The Coddingtown branch of the Sonoma County Public Library was their design along with several medical buildings and churches, including the Christian Church and an addition to First Baptist Church in Santa Rosa. During his 49 years living and working in Santa Rosa, Steele and his wife, Deloris, raised four children and kept active in community affairs. Steele, a former director of the American Institute of Architects, was a member of the board of directors of the Suburban Kiwanis Club, the North Coast Builders Exchange, the YMCA and was one of the founders of the Santa Rosa Little League and Rose City Christian Church now known as First Christian Church. He was an active member of the First Baptist Church, as song leader soloist in the choir, Sunday school teacher, Bible school superintendent and church deacon. Born in Oklahoma in 1920, Steele moved to California at the end of World War II to study architecture in Berkeley at the University of California. After graduating UC with honors in 1949, he moved to Santa Rosa where he met van Dyk and formed their firm. Steele also was an accomplished artist in many mediums and enjoyed lapidary work. He was an avid gardener and loved nature and photography. He is survived by his wife, Deloris; children, Karen Steele, William Steele, and John David Steele, all of Santa Rosa, and Kathleen Steele- Baker of San Carlos; brother Carroll Steele of Los Altos; and grandchildren, William and Greg Steele of Santa Rosa, and Ari and Imani Steele-Baker of San Carlos. A memorial service is scheduled 1 p.m. Monday at the First Baptist Church, 3300 Sonoma Ave. The family asks that Memorial contributions be made to the First Baptist Church of Santa Rosa, or the Sonoma County Museum. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Unknown County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/okstate.html