Ron Steele dedicated his life to serving the people of Slippery Rock and students and athletes of Slippery Rock University.

He was 84 when he died Saturday.

Steele devoted many years of his life to the fire service, including a stint as chief of the Slippery Rock Volunteer Fire Company, 40 years to the borough as a councilman and many years working as the SRU football team equipment manager and in campus security.

Mark Lauer, a firefighter and former chief of the Unionville Volunteer Fire Company, called Steele an “icon” of the county fire service.

“He’s a legend in Butler County fire service,” Lauer said. “If it was your worst day, you wanted Ron Steele in charge of your incident.”

He said he was a young man when he first met Steele in the early 1980s at Butler County Fire Chiefs Association meetings. Lauer said he tagged along with his father, who was chief of the Petrolia Volunteer Fire Department.

After Lauer became a firefighter, he said he encountered Steele at fire training classes and close relationship between them began in 1989 when he moved from Petrolia to Center Township and joined the Unionville Volunteer Fire Company.

The Slippery Rock and Unionville fire companies are often dispatched to the same fires, and Lauer recalled one of those incidents.

At a fire in the 1990s at the Slippery Rock Garden Apartments, Steele laid out a heavy, large diameter fire hose, but then found out he had to move it so another fire truck could park in that space.

“He got college kids to move that hose so he could get another truck there. They were instantly firemen that night,” Lauer said.

He said Steele knew how to operate all firefighting equipment and was the “guy to go to” at fire scenes

“He knew what needed to be done. He expected you to work hard and get that done. He expected professional productivity. We admired him — me and my guys. He was 100% in. That kind of man today is hard to find. It’s a huge loss for the fire service and for Slippery Rock and the university,” Lauer said.

He described Steele as “a huge, big old lovable lug.”

“I’m going to miss my friend. He was more than just a friend, he was a mentor,” Lauer said. “I loved him like another dad. He was a dad to many in the fire service.”

Current Chief Ryan Hanchosky said Steele served as chief for two years and assistant chief for more than 30 years.

He said Steele had retired from the fire company, but remained a life member when he became chief. Steele continued attending company meetings and training classes after his retirement, he said.

“Me and Ron got along great,” Hanchosky said.

He said Steele was an old school firefighter, but accepted the modern approach to fighting fires.

“We had to explain why we were buying new equipment,” Hanchosky said. “He would say ‘what the heck do you need all this new stuff for. Why not wear trench coats and rubber boots like we did back in the day?’ Once you explained, he was on your side.”

Slippery Rock Mayor Jondavid Longo said Steele served as a councilman for 40 years until he died, and served the community in various rolls for almost 70 years.

He said he met Steele after he won the 2017 primary for his first term as mayor.

“It was an honor to work with Mr. Steele. He was a giant as a member of the Slippery Rock community. He embodied what it meant to be a servant to the community,” Longo said. “He put the needs of the borough ahead of his own.

“He was a tough man, but he was very fair. I always appreciated his mentorship. He’s going to be sorely missed.”

At SRU, Steele served as a police officer for seven years before taking over as the director of campus safety. He held that position until he retired in 2001, but then got the equipment manager’s job and kept that position for 20 years until he retired again in 2022.

During his tenure, he helped guide The Rock football program to seven PSAC West titles and six appearances in the NCAA Division II national playoffs.

Steele worked under head coach George Mihalik, who also called him a legend and an icon.

“He was born there, raised in the community and lived there his entire life,” Mihalik said. “He truly loved the community of Slippery Rock. He also loved the university.”

His first encounter with Steele came in 1970 when he was a university police officer.

“I was a freshman and he was a campus police office and our paths happened to cross,” Mihalik said. He declined to provide details, but called it a “humorous incident on a Saturday night.”

After retiring as the campus safety director, Steele approached Mihalik and asked if he could work with the team as a volunteer.

“Believe me, he was more than a volunteer for our football program. Players liked and respected him. They called him Mr. Steele. He had as much respect from the players as I did as the head coach,” he said.

His title was equipment manager, but he served as a counselor and friend to the players and a father figure to some of them, Mihalik said.

“He tried to put on a tough guy image, but he was a teddy bear. He was soft hearted. He would help anybody anytime anywhere,” Mihalik said. “I called him big daddy. He sat behind me on away trips on the bus. He always and big bags of snacks.”

He said Steele continued working as equipment manager for a few years after he retired, and they remained friends.

“We never lost that connection. We loved each others’ company. I’ll miss him. I’m not the only one that will feel that way,” Mihalik said.