Bill Steele, an attorney from one of Colorado’s founding families and a man known as a “giant” among Denver lawyers, died May 27. He was 85.
A memorial service is planned at 11 a.m. Friday at St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral, East 13th Avenue and Clarkson Street.
Bill Steele died just two days after his brother, Robert Steele III, died in Montana.
With his father-in-law, Lowell White, Bill Steele founded the White and Steele law firm here.
Bill Steele specialized in defending corporations against liability lawsuits.
The companies included Lloyds of London, Michelin, B.F. Goodrich and Firestone Tires, said his son, Peter Steele of Whitefish, Mont.
Steele “was a giant in the Denver legal community,” said Richard M. Kaudy, who worked as a law clerk for Steele in the 1970s and later as a partner at White and Steele.
“He worked tirelessly for the bar,” said a lifelong friend and lawyer, Dick Downing. Steele was one of the people who helped change the way judges are selected in Colorado, Downing said.
Steele was awarded the William Lee Knous award, named for a former governor, for outstanding achievement, given by the University of Colorado, and the Colorado Bar Association Award of Merit.
He was president of the bar in 1964 adn 1965 and president of the International Association of Defense Counsel in 1975.
Steele had roots in Colorado that preceded its statehood. His great-grandfather, Dr. Henry Steele, came here in 1870 from Ohio and was one of the founders of Denver Health (then Denver General.)
Steele Street and Steele Elementary School were named for Henry Steele, said Bill Steele’s daughter, Amy Steele, of Denver and Athens, Ga.
Bill Steele’s grandfather Robert W. Steele was a chief justice of the Colorado Supreme Court, and his father, Robert Steele II, was a Denver District Court judge.
Walter Arundel (Bill) Steele was born Dec. 15, 1922.
His family had decided to name him William, but the doctor said he should be named for his maternal grandfather and persuaded the family to change his name to Walter. But the family nicknamed him Bill and he went by it all his life.
He graduated from East High School and Princeton University and earned his law degree at the University of Colorado. He was a navigator and bombardier in World War II, stationed in the Aleutian Islands.
He married Patricia White, whom he met when they were in high school, on March 30, 1944.
In addition to his wife, son and daughter, he is survived by three grandchildren.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
