Now in Glory

Dr. Arthur E. Steele, founder and first president of Clearwater Christian College, preacher of the Gospel and an educational leader in the local community, went to be with his Lord on March 2, 2011.

“There are times when the reputation of a person exceeds the reality of that person’s actual character,” said Dr. Richard Stratton, president of Clearwater Christian College. “This is not true of Dr. Arthur Steele. In many respects the reality of the man was even more. [Dr. Steele had] an underlying passion for God, a passion for the lost, a passion for his sweet bride Dolores, and a passion for Clearwater Christian College.”

Born June 17, 1920, in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, Steele graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Tech, now known as Carnegie Mellon University, in 1942. Having been a member of the ROTC in college, he was commissioned as an officer upon graduation and served his country in the Corps of Engineers Research and Development Board during World War II as the Supervisor of the Gas Generating School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. His orders were to develop mobile oxygen-producing generators and to the organize cadres that would enter the military field and determine the tools, supplies, and parts to ship out with each operating group.

After the war and his honorable discharge from the Corps of Engineers, Steele worked as a chemical engineer for Air Reduction Company, the suppliers of military mobile acetylene plants, but was soon led to Air Products in Allentown, Pennsylvania. One of his early projects was to help design the layout of an acetylene plant in Iselin, New Jersey, and then to supervise the building of the plant, as well as the hiring and training of the operators. It was during his employment at Air Products that Dr. Steele began to find inventive ways to serve the Lord through his daily duties. The Lord began to draw his heart closer to the ministry.

In 1956, Steele started his official ministerial pursuits when he began studies at Faith Theological Seminary, while still maintaining part-time employment at Air Products. Upon receiving his M.Div. and D.D. degrees in 1959, he was asked to serve as the vice president and treasurer of the seminary. In 1962, the Lord led him to accept the position of president of Shelton College in Ringwood, New Jersey. He served in this capacity until 1965.

Feeling God’s call to build a new college founded upon Biblical principles, Steele and several members of the Shelton College faculty established an official Organizing Committee for a new Christian college. After much prayer and countless hours researching possible locations and educational regulations, Clearwater Christian College was founded on September 17, 1966. Steele faithfully served as president until January 1, 1987.

Following his retirement from the role of president of CCC, Steele was invited to be part of the teaching staff at Far Eastern Bible College in Singapore and spent several months abroad during the years of 1988, 1989, 1990, and 2005.

Dr. Arthur Steele was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Dolores. He leaves behind five children, fifteen  grandchildren, twelve great grandchildren, and limitless friends and supporters. Dr. Steele was a man of faith, integrity, and character. The board, faculty, and staff of Clearwater Christian College extend our heartfelt condolences to the Steele family and recommit to keeping the legacy of Dr. Arthur E. Steele at the forefront of this ministry.

As he said in his recently updated memoirs, “What a privilege is ours that we have God’s Word with us every day, at whatever age and whatever circumstance. ‘Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord’ (I Corinthians 15:58).”

(Source: “CCC Founder Now in Glory”, http://www.clearwater.edu/news/campusnews.asp?ObjectID=1111, reprinted with permission.)

With the Lord

One of our valued Bible Presbyterian leaders went to be with the Lord at 12:30 this morning, March 2. A series of heart attacks in early December resulted his Arthur Steele’s hospitalization and nursing home care. In my visit on Tuesday, March 1, Dr. Steele, who had been somewhat unresponsive earlier in the day, became alert, sitting up in bed, taking some ice cream. At the end of my prayer with him and the family members present, he mouthed “Amen.”

Dr. Steele was born June 17, 1920. He served in the military, became a successful business man; a graduate of Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh. In his late 30’s he became a ministerial student in Faith Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He often spoke of his training under Dr. Allan A. MacRae. Fellow students at that time were Dr. Ed Oliver and Dr. Timothy Tow. Timothy Tow and Arthur Steele became more than friends, they were like brothers. Dr. Timothy Tow liked to call Arthur Steele “Stainless Steele!” A tribute to both his sterling character and his unflinching resolve to stand true to Christ.

After a period of leadership in both Faith Seminary and Shelton College, the Lord led Dr. Steele to found Clearwater Christian College in 1966. The college has a lovely campus in Clearwater, Florida, with over 500 students each year. Dr. Steele was a precious participant in the ministry of Suncoast Bible Presbyterian Church and the Florida Presbytery.

Funeral arrangements are not yet formed, but a service will take place on either March 10 or 11 on the Clearwater College campus. Arrangements, memorial giving and other details will be made available as soon as they become known. Jonathan Steele asks for prayer for the family as they plan the memorial service that it will honor the Lord and the memory of Arthur Steele.

Morris McDonald
Suncoast Bible Presbyterian Church
Palm Harbor, Florida

[Ed: Read Dr Arthur Steele’s memoirs, “The Iron Did Swim”, in The Burning Bush, January 2008, http://www.febc.edu.sg/BBVol14_1.htm.]