STEELE Thomas Vernon (Verne). It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Thomas Vernon (Verne) Steele who passed away peacefully in the Vernon Jubilee Hospital on September 7th, 2012 with his loving family by his side. With grieving hearts we let him go to be with his Lord, finally free of pain. Verne will be lovingly remembered by his devoted wife; Laura to whom he was married for 35 years, his sons; Tom (Sue) and Greg, his daughter; Teri, their mother; Jinty Steele, 5 grandchildren; Lauren, Kristie, Cody, and Carli who are all attending post secondary institutions and thirteen year old Caleb, his sister; Phyllis (Gerald) Raboch, his nephew; Alex (Joan) Daye, his niece; Verna (Brian) Gordey along with extended family members and friends. Verne was preceded in death by his parents; George and Hilda Steele and by his oldest sister, Kay Daye. Verne was born in the Prince George Hospital on September 19th, 1939 and lived in Vanderhoof, BC until he was eight years old at which time the family moved to Kaslo, BC where they spent two years before moving to Enderby, BC where he graduated from A.L. Fortune High School. He took his post secondary education at S.A.I.T. in Calgary, Alberta and then moved to Princeton to work. Verne was a good athlete and enjoyed baseball, hockey and curling. He became a very good shot with a rifle and first hunted with his parents and then with his friends. Verne was a kind, loving man with a very sharp mind and had a great sense of humor. When Verne was twenty-eight and a half years old he received a spinal cord injury while playing hockey and has spent the rest of his life as a quadriplegic. He has still remained an avid hockey fan. Before he was confined to a bed, Laura used to drive them on short vacations to the coast and to other places in the interior. They enjoyed each other and had a great relationship. They both always said, "we" did or "we" fixed this, "we" planted the garden today. "We cooked" which always meant that Verne watched a cooking show on TV and when Laura came home from work she would cook and he would tell her from memory, word for word how to make the dish that he had just watched being made. Cremation preceded a Celebration of Verne's life which will be held at Grace Bible Church (5661 Silver Star Road, Vernon, BC) on Saturday, September 22nd, 2012 at 1:30 P.M. with Pastor Larry Woelke officiating. The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Chai, Dr. Yacyshyn and the wonderful ICU nursing staff for their care and love shown to Verne and his family. A special thank you to Dr. Lemiski for going above and beyond the call of duty for all of the house calls and support for so many years. It is very much appreciated. As an expression of sympathy, those who wish to do so may send donations in memory of Verne to the Vancouver Children's Hospital 4480 Oak Street, Vancouver, BC V6H 3V4 or to the Upper Room Mission 3403 27th Avenue, Vernon, BC V1T 1S2. Funeral arrangements have been made with:
BETHEL FUNERAL CHAPEL LTD.,
5605 27th Street, Vernon, BC V1T 8Z5
(250) 542-1187