Obituaries

Kenneth Franklin Steele, Jr.

Photo of Kenneth Franklin Steele, Jr.
Kenneth Franklin Steele, Jr., 77, of Fayetteville, Ark., died December 18, 2021, after living with Parkinson's for almost 20 years. Ken was born in Statesville, N.C., on January 16, 1944, to Kenneth F. Steele, Sr., and Ruth Wilhelm Steele. He graduated from Scotts High School in Statesville and then went down the road to Chapel Hill, where he earned a B.S. in chemistry in 1966 and a Ph.D. in geology in 1971 from the University of North Carolina and met his first wife, Sheila Stumpf Steele. In 1970, he took his first and last job at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Known as the Rock Doc and Doc Rock, he taught in the Department of Geosciences until his retirement in 2007 and directed the Arkansas Water Resources Research Center from 1988 to 2001. His professional interests included the quality of ground water and streams related to land use and storm events, the evolution of ground water chemistry in alluvial aquifers, and finding rock-and-roll song lyrics he could play for his geology students (e.g., "We Will Rock You"). In 1972 Ken became a Christian. His faith was essential to him—and a gift to others—for the remainder of his life. In 2005, Ken married Beth Vaughan-Wrobel Steele, whom he met in a grief care group. She traveled with him to the beach and mountains, cheered on the Hogs with him, and managed his medical care at the end. Beth was a true Godsend to Ken. Ken loved rocks (specimens are on display in his home); music (he played sax in a band called the Rockatones in high school, owned a large and eclectic CD collection, and was singing along to Buddy Holly in his last days); being active (he liked hiking and canoeing, enjoyed racquetball, started running in his 40s, completed a number of marathons, and last played ping-pong from a wheelchair a little over a week before his death); watching sports (he was a dual Tar Heel and Razorback fan all his life); traveling (he was skilled at tagging vacations onto work trips); good food (he could eat his weight in popcorn and never failed to finish his ice cream); his family and friends; and Jesus. "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Ken was preceded in death by his parents and first wife, Sheila. Surviving Ken are his wife, Beth; his children, Krista Steele and Celisa Steele (Jeff Cobb); his grandchildren, Cy and Selah Steele-Cobb; and many dear family and friends. The family would like to thank the caregivers and the health care staff at Butterfield Trail Village who tended Ken lovingly. A private celebration of Ken's life will be held on December 28. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the Parkinson Research Foundation, the Butterfield Trail Village Foundation's Health Care Center Fund, or any organization of your choice. To sign the online guest book, visit www.bernafuneralhomes.com.

Published December 22, 2021

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