George Rebane
My dear friend Russ Steele died this morning in the loving arms of Ellen, his wife of 56 years. Russ was taken by pancreatic cancer which he had been fighting for the past year. The Steeles and Rebanes have been close friends since we moved here in 2002, having worked on various community projects together, frequently entertaining and travelling together and with friends, and, of course being ideological twins in the great partisan battles that have raged over these years in our county, state, and country. Lieutenant Colonel Steele retired after 20 years in the Air Force as an EW officer on B-52s, and then moving to systems test planning staff. After the Air Force, Russ joined a large aerospace company to manage a group doing R&D in advanced transportation electronics, and moved back to Nevada County where he was born.
Since retiring from aerospace, Russ has been very involved in the county’s efforts to support local economic development through expansion of our telecommunications and broadband access. Russ and Ellen were also very active in Nevada County’s Friends of the Military. The Steeles raised four daughters who eventually left Nevada County to live in the Sacramento area with their families. Three years ago Russ and Ellen moved to Lincoln to be closer to family and healthcare services. Russ continued his interest in and love for Nevada County through frequent visits and consultations with various county managers and regional business development organizations. He was also a prolific author, contributing articles to local business magazines and writing a book on his years growing up in a small Idaho mining village.
Jo Ann and I will miss Russ’s penetrating insights and always ready sense of humor – he was a man of information and avoided daisy talk – above all he was a patriot and a gentleman. Today an important and intimate part of our life is gone. I am reminded of John Donne’s words made famous by Hemingway, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main…. Any man’s death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
rebanesruminations.com 
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