SR • July/August 2015
25
STEELE —
Richard L. Steele passed away Friday, April
17, 2015, in Fort Lupton, CO, at the age of 91. He was
residing in Ashley Manor Assisted Living Center, and
died of natural causes.
Richard was born in Boulder, CO, on February 21, 1924, to
Ivan Walter Steele and Mildred (Andrews) Steele . He was
preceded in death by his parents, his sister Leota Pearson,
his second wife, Virginia Marie (Saunders) Steele and wife
Mary Jean (Watson) Steele (who he was married to twice
and who was the mother of his children).
Graduating from high school in Boulder, Richard joined
the Navy and served aboard the U.S.S. Shipley Bay, a jeep
carrier tasked with ferrying supplies to various theaters in
the Pacific. Richard was injured in a loading accident and
was subsequently medically discharged.
Richard became a tool and die maker and worked at
various metal shops in and around the Denver area. In
1974, he moved to Oregon where he continued his trade
until retiring and returning to Colorado in 1986. For the
next 17 years Richard resided in Loveland, Lafayette, then
Frederick/Firestone, finally moving to a Longmont retirement
home with Mary in 2003. Mary passed on July 28, 2007.
Richard’s health began to fade a bit but he still pursued
photography and fishing when and where he was able.
His pictures of flowers in the Longmont area have been
awarded special places with all of his children and church
family.
Richard was a strong Christian and his faith was evi-
denced by his love for his family and his service to many.
One of his favorite passages: “And this is the testimony,
that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the
Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you
who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may
know that you have eternal life.”(1 John 5:11-13 ESV).
Richard’s passion was to share the Word, praise God, then
go fishing (and take pictures of the whole thing). Richard
was a long time Deacon for the Boulder SDB Church.
This godly man is survived by his four children; Darwin
Steele, Gisele Evans, Valerie Heath, and Fay Ann VanDyke;
eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. His lead-
ership, love and mentoring will be greatly missed. Memo-
rial service was Sunday, May 3, 2015, at the Boulder SDB
Church. Maranatha!
BOWEN —
Grace Arline Bowen went to her Lord on
April 3, 2015. She was born in 1927 to Kenneth Paul
Stearns and Minnie Sunbeam (Barton) Stearns in Port-
land, OR.
The youngest of three daughters, she grew up in a loving
home surrounded by joy and laughter. She was especially
close to her Grandfather, Judge Joseph O. Stearns. She
would recall her days as a young girl going to his home in
SE Portland to spend time with him, whether it entailed
visiting him at home or going out with him for her favorite
dish, potato salad.
One of her favorite pastimes as a teenager was to go
roller skating at Oaks Park. She met her first husband,
Kenneth Bowen, there while he was on leave from the
Marine Corps. It seemed like love at first sight, and they
were married shortly thereafter. While Kenny was serving
overseas, Grace worked as a waitress and cashier. When he
finished his tour and was discharged to come home, she
quit her job to become a homemaker. Shortly afterwards,
she started a new career as mother.
She had three children, Gary Bowen, Karen (Bowen)
Schmidt, and Alex Sandra (Bowen) McNabb. All three are
living in the greater Portland area. As the years went on,
she became a grandmother to nine grandchildren, Angie,
Kenny, Jason, Marlee, Ryan, Christopher, Brandon, Kay and
Tierra. Then to seven great-grandchildren, and finally one
great-great-grandchild.
Grace enjoyed her grandchildren, and would have a
yearly Christmas cookie bake with them as well as an Easter
egg hunt in her backyard. She also enjoyed shopping and
scrapbooking. She would have scrapbook weekends with
her two daughters, making pages in her pajamas and eating
pizza and cupcakes, having a great time. She was famous for
her "Wall of Photos" in her living room. The entire hallway
was covered in photos ranging from her grandfather down
to the youngest members of her family.
Grace was active in her church, serving as a Deaconess
in the SDB Church in Portland. She had been a member
since the '80's and was dearly loved by everyone there.
She and Kenny were married for 56 years. They had a
re-marriage ceremony to celebrate their 50th wedding
anniversary. Kenny passed on in 2002. She then married
Mark Herod in 2005. They spent nine years together until
his death in 2014.
Grace loved her home and remained there with her dog
Holly until her passing.
In lieu of flowers, Grace requested that donations be
made to the Shriners Children’s Hospital in Portland, OR.
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