Seattle Times, The (WA) - June 11, 1997
Deceased Name: MEL STEIL DIES; ALASKA SHAPED ATTITUDE
Mel Steil learned early how difficult life could be.
One lesson came when the Gold Rush petered out and his family moved from Dawson City in the Yukon Territory, where he was born, to Fairbanks. As a youth, Mr. Steil added to his family's income by raising dogs and running trap lines.
And as a junior high-school student, he was orphaned.
Looking back, Mr. Steil's son Peter, of New York City, believes the Alaska experiences shaped his father's attitude about life and his health.
"He used his weights with a caregiver, right up until he went into the hospital," Peter Steil said.
Mr. Steil, 93, died Sunday (June 8) of respiratory failure brought on by pneumonia.
"In his 70s he would go to the gym and work out with weights.
It was his regimen. He was smart about it," his son said.
Taken in by an uncle in Pasadena, Calif., Mr. Steil graduated from high school there. With some help from his uncle and part-time work that included free-lance news photography, he paid his way through Stanford University. He earned a master's degree in chemical engineering in five years.
After a venture into the brewing business in Los Angeles, Mr.
Steil came to Seattle and spent more than 20 years operating Alaska Arctic Furs.
"He had a fairly imaginative approach to using furs. He wore fur bow ties and had a fairly extensive collection. He even had one dyed green for St. Patrick's Day," his son recalled.
"No one had ever tried to apply furs to ski apparel. Mom and dad showed up at the 1960 Olympics at Squaw Valley and had timber-wolf tails looped around the top of ski boots to keep the snow out because the boots in those days fit loose," Peter Steil said.
Mr. Steil retired in 1964 and went looking for an investment to use as a tax shelter. That led him to Ed Springman, now a successful real-estate broker.
Investment in a 42-unit apartment house in Lynnwood led Mr.
Steil to a series of syndication investments, "and he was the one who got me started. He was heck of a guy and sure made a big change in my life," Springman said.
Springman laughs that Mr. Steil for many years drove "a 1966 Ford Fairlane when he could afford a Mercedes.
"And I can remember, he must have been 80, and he was up there on the steep roof of his house in Broadmoor, nailing on new shingles. He was always pretty tight with a nickel."
Mr. Steil's wife of 50 years, Johanna, died four years ago.
Another son, Jim, died in 1984. Mr. Steil also is survived by two grandchildren.
At his request, there will be no funeral. The family suggests memorials to the James Steil Discovery Fund at Lakeside School, 14050 First Ave. N.E., Seattle, WA 98125.
Author: DEE NORTON
Edition: FINAL
Page: B6