US AIR FORCE VETERANVIEW VIDEO TRIBUTE HEREDaniel Joseph Steele was born to Harriet Elizabeth Tilford on October 29, 1944 in Newburgh, NY. Rasied solely by his mother, they lived a very modest life. His mother's love and encouragement instilled in Dan an ethic of hard work and achievement. At age fourteen, Dan began working and continued to work for the rest of his life. His plan was to retire this fall, once a home contracted to be built was completed in the Cincinnati area. In 1963, following graduation from Newburgh Free Academy, Dan enlisted in the Air Force where after completion of basic training, was stationed at Plattsburgh AFB in upstate New York. His assignment as an aircraft mechanic introduced him to a life-long love for and career in aviation. Dan married his high school sweetheart, Lynn Diener, on Auigust 29, 1964. This august, they would have celebrated 48 years of marriage. Upon discharge from the military, Dan began working for The Boeing Co. in Seattle where he worked nights and attended Seattle Community College during the day to obtain his Airframe and Powerplant License. A highlight of that job was working as the crew chief on the first flight of the Boeing 737 from Seattle to New York. Dan worked for several airlines over the following years before being approached by General Electric in 1974 to work in field service and spare parts sales positions over the next 19 years. These positions moved the family, which had now increased to four having become father to son, Tim, and daughter, Allison, to locations in Texas, California, and Ohio. Dan continued in the aerospace industry with other companies over the next 19 years, and during all of these jobs, he continued to earn his college degrees including his executive MBA from Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH. His career afforded him the opportunity to travel the world and meet many wonderful people on his journey. Dan's most important and favorite role of the last two years was being Papa to 2 1/2 year old granddaughter, Kerielle Lynn, whom he absolutely adored. In addition, he was looking forward to the expected arrival in June of his second granddaughter, Kenleigh. She arrived one month to the day of his death, and we like to think that God allowed him to help escort her into the world with much delight. Hence, her middle name is Danielle. Dan was, as most of us know, a "workaholic," always dedicated to his employers, taking on more than the average and obviously loving the challenges it all brought. Family always wondered what he would do when he retired, but his "honey do list" would have been long! He was looking forward to retiring this fall and stopping to "smell the roses" as we say. He thoroughly enjoyed time shared with family and close friends when time permitted. Lynn's family accepted Dan immediately and loved him dearly; enjoying times shared together. Dan, being an only child, was pleased to feel surrounded by their love. Dan will be remembered above all as a warm, genial man as well as a loving husband, father, Papa, friend, and mentor to many. His deep love for his family and life, compassion for people, witty sense of humor, hard work ethic, and rare ability to get along with just about anyone, will forever live in our hearts and minds. His "infectious" laugh, as one colleague said, will be missed forever. The Memorial Service will be held at Mueller Parker Funeral Home on Saturday, September 8, 2012 at 11:00 AM. Memorials can be made online to Boys and Girls Club of America (www.bgca.org) and to The Colon Club (www.colonclub.com). To send a condolence, visit www.muellerparker.com. 513-398-9100.
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