In Remembrance: Frederick Steele Blackall III ’45W Died on April 18 2017

Frederick Steele Blackall, 91, of Westport, Massachusetts, and Jupiter, Florida, passed away quietly in his sleep at the Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center on April 18, 2017. "Steele" was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on June 25, 1925, to parents Frederick Steele Blackall Jr. and Hazel (White) Blackall. He married Patricia Louise Hancock on June 21, 1947. Patricia died on October 20, 2002. Steele is survived by his only sibling, sister Marilyn (Blackall) Wheeler of Wellington, Florida, and Harwich Port, Massachusetts.

Professionally, Steele was a manufacturing executive. He spent most of his career with Taft-Peirce Manufacturing Company in Woonsocket and Cumberland, Rhode Island, where he rose to president and treasurer and ultimately chairman during his tenure from 1949 to 1986. He also cofounded and served as president of Quest for Excellence of Providence.

Steele was generous with his service, his personal time, and his financial support for many important efforts: An Army veteran from World War II; trustee, Landmark Medical Center, Ballou Home; board of directors, United Way Eastern New England; Yale Science and Engineering Association executive council; Association of Yale Alumni Board of Governors; Harvard Business School Association of Southeastern New England president; Providence Building Board of Review; Board of Roger Williams University. Many also knew Steele through his Providence-based East Side Monthly wine article where his practical, economical advice helped make wine more accessible to everyone in the community.

Educationally, Steele believed unconditionally in his alma mater, Yale, where he earned a BS in engineering in the “War” class of 1945W. He also held Harvard in high esteem, where he received an MBA in 1949—although that esteem stopped at “The Game” (the Yale/Harvard annual football contest), where the Bulldogs got every molecule of his loyalty. In fact, Steele broke the all-time Yale/Harvard game attendance with 80 games, as recognized on national TV in last November's match! In a wonderful cadence to his long attendance, last November, Yale won 21–14 in a thrilling fourth quarter.

It was as a family man where Steele will be most remembered. His family tree includes three children and their spouses, plus six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, spread from Maine to Florida, west to Chicago, and east to England.

Steele was a traditional business leader, but shined more in his private life as an unconventional, highly creative, poem- and wine-article-writing, jazz-drumming, mathematics wizard kind of guy who created a constantly changing, intriguing experience for all around him. He loved his wife Patricia with such passion that he set an example for his family and anyone who spent time with the fascinating couple.

Steele will be missed by the many people he influenced throughout his life. His iconic style and distinctive "Steele-ness" will remain in the hearts of all those he left behind.

—Submitted by the family.