Garold Leroy Steed

Garold LeRoy Steed, was “rescued” (2 Timothy 4: 9-18) by God following a hard-fought battle with metastatic prostate cancer. He followed shortly after his brother Carl Steed (June 1944 to Feb 2023) to his heavenly rest.

Garold was born Nov. 3, 1946 in Midland Michigan to Myrtle Toczek Landers and Leslie Carl Hitsman, and departed Nov. 20, 2023.

He was admired and respected as a man of integrity & sincere kindness. He always found the time to stop and chat with neighbors or to lend a helping hand. He enjoyed the beauty of God’s world: nature and the people.

He was a “doer”, loved working on projects. He would reminisce about the days he lived on the farm working with his much-admired grandfather building barns, plowing fields, harvesting hay, fixing all kinds of items and tending to the animals all while attending community college.

A motorcycle accident led him to attend the University of Washington instead of waiting to be drafted for the Vietnam war. While in college he met his wife. He received a BS in Materials Science where he specialized in Metallurgy. He worked as metallurgical engineer in the electronics material industry as a problem solver and quality engineer, which gave him a lot of satisfaction. He was very involved in the professional organization: Metallurgical Society. He was an active member and held a variety of officer positions. His last engineering job was with Honeywell in Spokane Washington.

He ended his working career in 2018 as a Spokane, Freeman School District Bus Driver and Math is Cool Coach. He treasured that experience and the young lives he impacted. He was an active member of Centenary UMC and the Moran UMC in Spokane. He was on a city wide CROP Walker team as an organizer and a cook at St, Ann’s Ecumenical Sunday Neighborhood Lunch Program providing meals for the poor for over 25 years. A spring memorial service is being planned.

He is survived by his wife after 55 years of marriage, Alicia Steed and their daughter, Michelle Steed. He also left two sisters: Maryann Steed, Julie and her husband, Vern Berig. He also had siblings in Michigan including, brothers: Douglas, Roger and sister: Dawn Hitsman. and 2 deceased brothers: Dennis and Danny Hitsman. Plus, he had many wonderful nieces and nephews. He loved all of his family & friends greatly.

Donations may be sent to Kaiser Permanente Cancer Treatment Center, Seattle, WA