Steele and I were very good friends from the 7th grade until his death. Steele's tragic death has always been the source of one of my most emotional and memorable "What If" questions. On the afternoon that Steele died, he called me up to see if I wanted to ride out to the airport with him. My mother asked if I had homework, which I did, so she thought I should probably tell Steele I wasn't available. I've often wondered if I had gone with him, if I'd have been able to do anything to help prevent the accident. Steele has often been in my thoughts ever since his accident. I believe he was an old soul in a young body.
I didn’t know Steele, but I learned a lot about him at wrestling practice in fall 1966 when he and I and junior Dave Daugherty were pitted against our classmate Craig Poole, diminutive senior Bob Larsen and junior star Steve Noble in a team game that called for ousting the opponents from the mat. Nobody would have bet on us to win.
Steele weighed about 115 pounds and presumably was matched against Larsen. I was supposed to deal with Poole, who was shorter but far more muscular than I, and Daugherty was up against Noble. But Steele insisted on vying with his good buddy Poole, and he heroically neutralized Craig long enough that our team scored an upset victory.
Steele was one of my best childhood friends. Our families both attended St Paul's Episcopal Church and we lived in the same neighborhood. We played together from an early age and I felt like we were both part of each other's families. Steele and I shared in numerous adventures, biking, camping, skiing, playing, gagging around, getting away with too much, or maybe getting away with just enough?? When we were early teenagers we took a couple bicycle trips to the beach as well as up to the Little North Fork of the Santiam. We would pack along our camp gear, fishing poles, etc. Tom Thornton and Craig Poole were two other frequent partners in our escapades. Steele's father Dan also took us on many outings, ski trips and family activities. He was a loving father with a great sense of humor. Steele was a spirited kid, ready for fun at any time, and often pushing the edge. Before he died he was taking flying lessons. The day he was killed he was returning from the Salem airport where he had just gotten checked out for his solo license. His death was a huge shock to me, and a huge loss. I didn't deal well with the pain, prettly much went into denial and tried to put it out of my mind. Fortunately there was lot's of family support in the process. I'm thankful for all the wonderful times we had and the great memories. I'm also thankful for what Steele taught me about friendship.
Think about that an impact more than 40 years later.
Thank you Steele for leading the way.
We all have impacted each other, take a few minutes and write your re-collections, memories, thoughts, loves, and questions. an opportunity to look at the barometer of our lives past and present will reveal the impact we've all had in each othes lives.
The written memories of Steele are beautiful and heartfelt. Although I didn't know Steele - Randy did. They were good friends. I met Mark Wiles when we were both students at Pacific Lutheran Universtity and Randy was teaching flying at Ft. Lewis - Mark came to dinner at our home. Randy and Steele are buried within feet of one another. I'd just like folks to know that the Wiles family continues to wrap their collective arms around Steele - and also Randy. Each Halloween, Christmas, Easter - there are replicas of the memorials placed on Steele's grave also placed on Randy's grave. Mr Wiles was a wonderful man who influenced many young men as a mentor even after the death of his eldest son.
Steele was one of the first new friends I met at Leslie Junior High. Not too long after, Steele brought me into his crowd, with his "seal of approval", and I was thankful to him for that! We remained close till the day he died. His death took the breath out of all of us. I remember going to that old barn for our band's practice session, the next day or so, and we all just felt totally empty and utterly sad about his death. But Steele was well liked by just about every person at South High, it seemed.
Why do we remember what we remember? It was a Toronado. I lived on the steep part of Granada Way in Candalaria just a few blocks from Alvarado Terrace where Steele lived. On snow days Steele would come over to sled with me and drink hot chocolate.
So vivid is the memory of crawling into my Daddy's lap in our living room and crying and crying after Steele died so horribly. Looking back on our amazing childhood, it seemed to be the beginning of the loss of our innocence. Reading everyone's comments brought back so many memories. I was in classes with Steele since kindergarten and then at Candalaria Elementary School. Loved him, a real sweetheart. He meant so much to so many...
Allow me to clarify - the car involved in the accident. It was a 1967 Oldsmobile 442 on loan to the Wiles family while their car was being repaired. It was Jim Loder's (owner of Loder Olds) personal demonstrater. It was Yellow with a black vinyl top and white interior. Though I only saw the car a couple of times, I remember it well. This was a VERY FAST high performance muscle car from the sixties when the horsepower wars were at the peak. This very much figures into the equation of WHY and how this accident happened. This car was in all reality - beyond the capabilities of ANY sixteen year old driver who had only had their license a month or so, as he did. Just being a kid.....with a hot car = could have happened to any of us at that age! My college room mate in 1973 was Bo Loder = SSHS class of 1971. We talked about this incident many times over the years in great detail. The day after the accident, Saturday, Jim Loder took his two young sons - Bo = SSHS 1971 and Rod = SSHS 1968 out to Wiltse Towing Co. where the car had been taken after the accident. I think he wanted to make a point. The boys examined the vehicle (completely destroyed) in great shock. Their father said 3 words = "don't drive fast". The accident was truly "the tradgedy" of our H.S. years.
I remember that day so vividly. Having come from Judson Junior High I had only just met Steele in Carmelita Barkquist's biology class and we became "buddies'. I remember him telling me the afternoon he was killed that he was going to the Salem airport for flight lessons and we would all hook up Friday night at the football game. We lived on top of Marshall Drive near Morningside school and we were able to see all the "commotion" below having no idea what had occured. It wasn't until I went to the game that night that I heard the awful news....rest in peace my Brother!!!
Clark Blanchard
Steele and I were very good friends from the 7th grade until his death. Steele's tragic death has always been the source of one of my most emotional and memorable "What If" questions. On the afternoon that Steele died, he called me up to see if I wanted to ride out to the airport with him. My mother asked if I had homework, which I did, so she thought I should probably tell Steele I wasn't available. I've often wondered if I had gone with him, if I'd have been able to do anything to help prevent the accident. Steele has often been in my thoughts ever since his accident. I believe he was an old soul in a young body.Kim (Colin) Seymour
I didn’t know Steele, but I learned a lot about him at wrestling practice in fall 1966 when he and I and junior Dave Daugherty were pitted against our classmate Craig Poole, diminutive senior Bob Larsen and junior star Steve Noble in a team game that called for ousting the opponents from the mat. Nobody would have bet on us to win.Steele weighed about 115 pounds and presumably was matched against Larsen. I was supposed to deal with Poole, who was shorter but far more muscular than I, and Daugherty was up against Noble. But Steele insisted on vying with his good buddy Poole, and he heroically neutralized Craig long enough that our team scored an upset victory.
Peter Geiser
Steele was one of my best childhood friends. Our families both attended St Paul's Episcopal Church and we lived in the same neighborhood. We played together from an early age and I felt like we were both part of each other's families. Steele and I shared in numerous adventures, biking, camping, skiing, playing, gagging around, getting away with too much, or maybe getting away with just enough?? When we were early teenagers we took a couple bicycle trips to the beach as well as up to the Little North Fork of the Santiam. We would pack along our camp gear, fishing poles, etc. Tom Thornton and Craig Poole were two other frequent partners in our escapades. Steele's father Dan also took us on many outings, ski trips and family activities. He was a loving father with a great sense of humor. Steele was a spirited kid, ready for fun at any time, and often pushing the edge. Before he died he was taking flying lessons. The day he was killed he was returning from the Salem airport where he had just gotten checked out for his solo license. His death was a huge shock to me, and a huge loss. I didn't deal well with the pain, prettly much went into denial and tried to put it out of my mind. Fortunately there was lot's of family support in the process. I'm thankful for all the wonderful times we had and the great memories. I'm also thankful for what Steele taught me about friendship.Nick Cloyd
Mr Wiles, with respect, we miss you even today.Think about that an impact more than 40 years later.
Thank you Steele for leading the way.
We all have impacted each other, take a few minutes and write your re-collections, memories, thoughts, loves, and questions. an opportunity to look at the barometer of our lives past and present will reveal the impact we've all had in each othes lives.
Jody Miller (Kishpaugh)
The written memories of Steele are beautiful and heartfelt. Although I didn't know Steele - Randy did. They were good friends. I met Mark Wiles when we were both students at Pacific Lutheran Universtity and Randy was teaching flying at Ft. Lewis - Mark came to dinner at our home. Randy and Steele are buried within feet of one another. I'd just like folks to know that the Wiles family continues to wrap their collective arms around Steele - and also Randy. Each Halloween, Christmas, Easter - there are replicas of the memorials placed on Steele's grave also placed on Randy's grave. Mr Wiles was a wonderful man who influenced many young men as a mentor even after the death of his eldest son.Chuck Whittemore
Steele was one of the first new friends I met at Leslie Junior High. Not too long after, Steele brought me into his crowd, with his "seal of approval", and I was thankful to him for that! We remained close till the day he died. His death took the breath out of all of us. I remember going to that old barn for our band's practice session, the next day or so, and we all just felt totally empty and utterly sad about his death. But Steele was well liked by just about every person at South High, it seemed.
Bob Jones
Why do we remember what we remember? It was a Toronado. I lived on the steep part of Granada Way in Candalaria just a few blocks from Alvarado Terrace where Steele lived. On snow days Steele would come over to sled with me and drink hot chocolate.
Shelley Brown
So vivid is the memory of crawling into my Daddy's lap in our living room and crying and crying after Steele died so horribly. Looking back on our amazing childhood, it seemed to be the beginning of the loss of our innocence. Reading everyone's comments brought back so many memories. I was in classes with Steele since kindergarten and then at Candalaria Elementary School. Loved him, a real sweetheart. He meant so much to so many...
Robert Curtis
Allow me to clarify - the car involved in the accident. It was a 1967 Oldsmobile 442 on loan to the Wiles family while their car was being repaired. It was Jim Loder's (owner of Loder Olds) personal demonstrater. It was Yellow with a black vinyl top and white interior. Though I only saw the car a couple of times, I remember it well. This was a VERY FAST high performance muscle car from the sixties when the horsepower wars were at the peak. This very much figures into the equation of WHY and how this accident happened. This car was in all reality - beyond the capabilities of ANY sixteen year old driver who had only had their license a month or so, as he did. Just being a kid.....with a hot car = could have happened to any of us at that age! My college room mate in 1973 was Bo Loder = SSHS class of 1971. We talked about this incident many times over the years in great detail. The day after the accident, Saturday, Jim Loder took his two young sons - Bo = SSHS 1971 and Rod = SSHS 1968 out to Wiltse Towing Co. where the car had been taken after the accident. I think he wanted to make a point. The boys examined the vehicle (completely destroyed) in great shock. Their father said 3 words = "don't drive fast". The accident was truly "the tradgedy" of our H.S. years.
Steve Crone
I remember that day so vividly. Having come from Judson Junior High I had only just met Steele in Carmelita Barkquist's biology class and we became "buddies'. I remember him telling me the afternoon he was killed that he was going to the Salem airport for flight lessons and we would all hook up Friday night at the football game. We lived on top of Marshall Drive near Morningside school and we were able to see all the "commotion" below having no idea what had occured. It wasn't until I went to the game that night that I heard the awful news....rest in peace my Brother!!!