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Newport ‘true philanthropist’ Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Steele dies at 96

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Elizabeth “Betty” Steele, a prominent Newport Beach philanthropist whose charitable support ran wide and deep through Orange County and beyond, died Jan. 16. She was 96.

With her late husband Dick, Betty supported arts, education, health services, environmental and safety net organizations, and uniquely local institutions like the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum.

Shelley Hoss, president of the Newport-based Orange County Community Foundation, knew Betty for 18 years.

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Hoss said Dick Steele, who died in 1996, liked the concept of a local philanthropic hub like the OCCF, and with his wife helped build it up. The foundation, established in 1989, is also home to the Richard and Elizabeth Steele Fund, through which Betty supported more than 50 nonprofit organizations countywide. The endowed fund will continue in perpetuity.

Hoss said she was quickly struck by Betty’s loyalty to her husband’s causes after he was gone, and the attention she paid to her own. Betty had a heart for women and children in developing countries, and as of two years ago wanted to help people impacted by hurricanes.

Hoss said Betty made it clear that she wanted to help others, even well into her 90s and after macular degeneration had taken her eyesight.

She was always humble.

“Betty never wanted to draw attention to herself,” Hoss said. “But if you would watch and listen you’d see this incredible force of nature.”

Elizabeth “Betty” Richardson Steele was born on May 5, 1921, in Auburn, New York. She attended Finch College in Manhattan before working for the United States Department of War during her 20s.

She died of natural causes. She is survived by daughters Elizabeth “Libby” Holden of Eugene, Ore.; Anne Steele of Seattle; and Patricia “Trish” Steele of Maui, Hawaii; eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband and their son, Richard, who died in a yachting accident at the age of 18 in 1962.

Patron of the arts, and a fine sailor

Betty Steele was often at the ground floor of organizations.

In 1956, she co-founded the Junior League of Orange County, then called the Newport Harbor Service League. She volunteered to be the founding registrar for what became the Orange County Museum of Art, inspecting and recording each piece of incoming art.

Judy Morr, executive vice president for programming at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, met Betty in 1985 as the Costa Mesa performance hub prepared to open.

Betty, “a true philanthropist,” believed the arts were important to a well-rounded life, Morr said.

Several years ago, the center named its dance rehearsal hall for Betty Steele. It’s where productions are developed, and where children who could go on to become accomplished artists take their earliest formative steps.

As people step into the Segerstrom Center, they will feel her spirit, Morr said.

“She didn’t expect anything. She was just a lovely person,” she said. “She was a giver. It was a privilege to know her.”

Steele philanthropy is multigenerational.

The family amassed wealth through patriarch Harry Steele’s Los Angeles-based U.S. Electrical Motors, which powered pumps that irrigated the San Joaquin Valley. Son Dick Steele worked in the family business, which merged with Emerson Electric Co., a Fortune 500 company.

Harry Steele’s widow, Grace, and children created the Harry and Grace Steele Foundation in 1953, 10 years after Harry’s death. It quietly gave $165 million until it dissolved in 2006. Betty was a trustee.

Betty created the Richard and Elizabeth Steele Fund at OCCF in 2000. Her daughters will carry on the legacy, Hoss said.

The sisters also give back to their adopted hometowns, having had a strong lifetime example in their parents.

“They felt the adage, ‘to whom a lot is given, a lot is expected,’ ” Libby said.

Libby and Trish recalled their mother as well-traveled, a competitive bridge and dominoes player with a rollicking sense of humor, a savvy sailor who could create tasty meals in a tiny ship’s galley with less than five ingredients, and a needlepointer who could calmly make pieces in swells that would turn any other sailor green.

Hoss said the best way to honor Betty is to follow her giving example.

She used every resource she had to do good, and was always looking forward to what she could do next, Hoss said, adding, “To me that is the absolute model of a life well-lived.”

Gifts in Betty Steele’s honor may be made to OCCF, 4041 MacArthur Blvd., Ste. 510, Newport Beach, CA 92660, or to the charity of the donor’s choice. Private services are pending.

hillary.davis@latimes.com

Twitter: @Daily_PilotHD

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