Andrew Steel (3 Nov 1946 - 14 Aug 2024)

Those carefree days playing in the park filled with laughter and mischief are etched in my memory forever. You brought a sense of fun into everything we did and you made our childhood magical. The memories we created with Sue and Jue will remain with us forever. Always in my heart , your loving little sister, Pam.xx

Dear Andrew,
Though not family, you welcomed me as such. From 5 or 6 years old, you have been a presence in my life and taught me along the way. Your zest for life and enduring spirit of laughing in the face of adversity, whilst always remaining true to yourself had a greater impact than you might have ever imagined. The open door of your family home, built with love and kindness with your darling wife and children has been invaluable to so many not least of all me. It is a rare beauty to find a lifelong friend as I have in Bonnie, but to extend that to their parents is quite remarkable. Your phone number is etched in my memory and I apologise for the time I went to a payphone and reverse charge called your house some 30+years ago! You imprinted on so many and many tears have been shed but that is one fraction to the testament of a person that you have been to us. Most of all, I want to thank you for your encouragement, sense of humour, patience, openness, and matter-of-fact nature! Esther x

Hey Andrews!
I'll miss your major contribution to our family gatherings.
Additionally I'll miss your companionship in our combined interest in extreme sports. ie extremely bad golf and swimming in the extremely cold North Sea.
Love Grababy. x

Uncle Andrew,

Known for your love, laugh & boundless humour, you brought joy & light to everyone who knew you. You leave behind a family who adored you & a multitude of friends who cherished your company.

You had an incredible ability to make everyone smile, even in the toughest of times. Your jokes, stories, & positive spirit will continue to live within us all. The beautiful (& often hilarious!) memories we shared with you will forever be a treasure.

Uncle Andrew - you leave a void that cannot be filled, but your legacy of laughter & love will continue to inspire us. Our family are all deeply saddened right now, but we are comforted in knowing that you are now at peace.

You will always be remembered, & forever missed.

Love you,

Beth xxx

Grandad, I can't believe you are gone.

I am so grateful for all the memories I have. I will remember our covid times forever; sledging in the fields, falling off rope swings, learning the art of arguing.

You taught me how to stand up for myself and not to care what other people think and for that I will be eternally grateful.

Thank you for being the best Grandad I could ever dream of, I will miss you forever.

I love you

Coco (Cokes) xxxx

Grandad, i am so glad that I was able to be your granddaughter. I feel very lucky to have known you.
Thank you for all the Christmas’ we have spent together and the moments we’ve had.
Thank you for the funny stories you’ve told to me all about your childhood and the good times you had in college.
Thank you for being someone irreplaceable in my life
I cannot comprehend the fact that you are no longer here with all of us.
That I will never hear your laugh, see you smile, and just the fact that I will never see you again.

I will love you forever

Grandad, I don’t know where to begin. Nobody was quite like you. Never failing to make the whole room laugh, no matter the circumstances.

I am so lucky to be your granddaughter.

Thank you for the dance competitions. Thank you for bringing me to work with you for my work experience. Thank you for the holidays in Northumberland. Thank you for the stories and wisdom.

Thank you for the countless laughs, speeches, silly nicknames, hugs and unconditional love and support.

Our hero. I love you forever.

Fin/Finters/Miss Pink/Finty xxx

It's been 2 weeks since you took your last breath, since I last saw you, since I last held your strong hand. I still can't believe you are gone.

But, thank goodness, whenever I close my eyes I can still hear your deep voice, loud and clear, still see your twinkly blue eyes and your wry smile.

You taught me so many things but the one that sticks out the most for me was, to stick to your beliefs, don't follow the crowd, it will be hard, but ultimately you will succeed, and how right you were.

I look at my 3 beautiful children and see you in all of them. Elijah's handsome looks and ability to be the best at any sport, Coco's sociabilty and hilariously wicked sense of humour and Gracie’s love of reading and the spoken word as well as being completely straight as a die.

You constantly raved about how amazing my children were but they wouldn't be the way they are had I not had you as my amazing dad.

You had unbelievable strength, never moaned or got angry about dying. Your one and only concern in all of this was for Mom.

I feel blessed to have had the time with you at the end, nothing left unsaid, and you passed knowing that Christian and I will look after Mom forever.

I love you Dad, forever and always xx

Are you really gone?
How can you be?
We were only laughing together a few short weeks ago....
Laughing about life's foolishness, and the people who make it so foolish.
I've heard tell that those who say they don't care what other's think of them actually care the most. You didn't care what they thought, and proved it often with your interaction with the world. A trait that I admired more than you ever knew. As a teenager who thought he was oh so anarchic, you showed me that being your authentic self was far more rewarding, and I have hopefully retained this nugget of wisdom to carry with me.
Knocking on your door to be answered by you in your ancient rugby top, sleaves looking like they had survived a bear attack.
I still have so many questions I didn't have time to ask you, and this hurts incredibly. I know I would have received honest and sagelike advice, and would have endeavoured to follow your words.
Music. My greatest love, and again, you were the driving force in forging my tastes beyond the disposable, chart based 'hits' and discovering for myself. "Have you heard this?" was often spoken between ourselves as we tried to out do each other with our musical prowess.
Just yesterday I was reduced to tears when listening to a new album and thinking 'Dad will love this!' only to remember that yes, you would love it, but we cannot listen to it together.
These will be the times I miss you most, but also the times you will live on; because I promise you this, Dad. You will never, ever be forgotten.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I love you.

It’s quite hard to put into words just how much my Grandad meant to me but I’ll do my best. Since being very young I can never forget just how safe I felt around him, no matter what was going on visiting grandma and grandad always filled me with ease and made me smile and laugh in equal measure but as I got older I grew to respect grandad more and more not just because he was family but because he was such an incredible human being. From stories of his life to how he carried himself he was and always will be my hero. My love for him is immeasurable and will always be that way before and now sadly after he has passed. To say he will be missed amongst all who knew him is a very large understatement. I will miss him always but will also cherish the wonderful times I got to share with him.

Thinking and remembering my big brother Andrew, who will always be with me.

I'm Jue, the goofy one sitting in front of him. I will never forget him, and have so many lovely memories of growing up together, with Sue and Pam.

I will miss you, Andrew 💔xxx

I loved Andrew (aka Old Man Steel aka Grumps aka Shurrup Lance) very much. He was a good friend with excellent sarcasm & humour skills which he passed onto his children & grandchildren.
Growing up, Andrew & Jennie's house became my 2nd home. They fed me physically, emotionally & intellectually.
He got me into Creedence. He also recommended Captain Correlli's Mandolin to me, so he did blot his copy book somewhat in that regard.
It was a pleasure & an honour to count you as a friend bud.

All the best,
Johnson xx

PS Andrew, I 'lent' you The Thick Of It dvd box set, not 'gave' it to you, ffs.