Obituaries

Anson- Schuyler G. Steele, Esquire, 51, relinquished his sword to colon cancer on March 8, 2010.  He fought that battle, as he lived his life, with honor, intelligence, courage and dignity.

He was born on June 16, 1958 to Ronald J. Steele and Terry (Garcelon) Steele in Manchester, Connecticut.  James Joyce readers will recognize this date as Bloom’s Day.  Schuyler would often cloak a reminder of his pending birthday as the approach of Bloom’s Day.  Joyce, Conrad, King, Homer, Hawthorne, Browning and Koontz were among Schuyler’s favorite fiction writers.  Other areas of study were Calvin Coolidge, War of the Roses, Balzac, General Armstrong Custer, Oswald Chambers and St. Thomas Aquinas.

Schuyler was well prepared for attending Palmyra Consolidated School. So much so that he was eager to start the “hard work”.  He excelled at Nokomis High School where he received an Award of Excellence in Shell Corporation’s Bicentennial Seniors Program.  He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree at UMO in history with highest honors and highest distinction.  He was an active member of the Honors Program and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Lambda Delta, Phi Kappa, Phi and Phi Alpha Theta.  He continued his education at the University of Maine School of Law where he received his Law Degree in 1983.

He began his law career at the law office of Lowry and Platt and was later a partner at the law firm of Brown and Steele.  Both firms were in Portland. In 1991, he chugged up the tracks to Palmyra where he set up his law office in a converted Bangor and Aroostook refrigerator boxcar (a reefer car).  In April of 2009, the Newport District Court hosted an appreciation celebration honoring Schuyler’s patience and respect of others.  Other noted characteristics were his unflappability, courteousness, calmness and willingness to assist in general and especially during a crisis.

Schuyler leaves at this great train station called Earth, his wife, Joan K. (Paine) Steele of Anson; his parents, Ronald J. Steele and Terry (Garcelon) Steele of Palmyra; an aunt, Joan Young of Dedham and many cousins.  He also leaves his wife’s large family, many of whom he came to call friends.

Schuyler was perhaps most often characterized as a very intelligent person who was always reading and was never, ever without something to read, even if it was only the Weekly World News.  His intellectual curiosity led to study in a wide variety of genders.  He enjoyed everything from comic books to a multi-tome series on Ancient Christian Commentary.

Schuyler was a member of the Church of the Nazarene in Pittsfield, a founding member of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a member of the Medico-Legal Society.  He was also a member of the Meridian Splendor Masonic Lodge No. 49, AF & AM, in Newport, the Oak Island (Nova Scotia, Canada) Tourism Society and the Three Stooges Fan Club.

A heated debate was always enjoyed by Schuyler, as were videos, especially super-marination, Prince Edward Island, swords and guns, and walks in the woods with the dogs.  A perfect day for Schuyler was enjoying a good cigar and reading at the Flamingo Lounge (our front yard) with Cujo by his side.  Cujo and Cleo, his childhood dog, have been waiting for Schuyler at the next stop.  They will be as inseparable there as they have been here.

The family will receive friends from 2:00-4:00pm and 6:00-8:00pm, Friday, March 12, 2010 at the Shorey-Nichols Funeral Home, 191 Hartland Avenue in Pittsfield.  A funeral service will be held at 2:00pm, Saturday, March 13, 2010 at the Church of the Nazarene, 200 Central Street in Pittsfield with the Rev. Pete Griffin officiating.  Interment will be at the Sawyer Cemetery, Route 7, in Plymouth, one fine day in the spring.

Should friends desire, memorial contributions may be made to the Church of the Nazarene, 200 Central Street, Pittsfield, Maine, 04967, in Schuyler’s memory.

To leave a message of kindness for the family, please visit www.shoreynichols.com

Care for the Steele family has been provided by Shorey-Nichols Funeral Home, Pittsfield.