At his beloved plant farm, surrounded by rhododendrons in full bloom, Captain Richard (Dick) Steele would chuckle and say, "I used to be one of my country's hired assassins, but I've always thought of myself as a pacifist. That's what I'm doing here, in my own way."
Dick believed that beautiful plants and gardens made people more virtuous and the world a more peaceful place. To many, he was "Captain Rhododendron," a tongue-in-cheek homage to a visionary who opened up new possibilities for ornamental horticulture in Atlantic Canada and beyond.
That was the other side of the man who was commander of the Tribal-class destroyer HMCS Nootka, a veteran of the Second World War and Korea, and recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross.
Dick's life as the first of eight children of Ralph and Ethel Steele wasn't easy. He suffered from polio and his father died of lung cancer when Dick was 15. Early vocations included fur trapper, sports reporter and bank clerk. In 1940, he headed to Halifax for officer training in the Royal Canadian Navy. He married Nancy MacDonald in 1941; three children followed, Dick Jr., Sally and Diana.
Even in the midst of the Battle of the Atlantic, Dick's aesthetic sensitivity was apparent. The interior of HMCS Rimouski was, in his words, "grey and cramped and bad for morale. I told the men to pick a colour scheme out of one of the lady's magazines and repaint her. I figured that way we couldn't go too far wrong."
As commander of Cornwallis naval base in Nova Scotia in 1961, he banished such naval icons as painted rocks and anchors, replacing them with flowering shrubs grown from his own seeds and cuttings. Later, while Canadian naval adviser to NATO in Norfolk, Va., he often travelled to Europe, squeezing in plant research on the side. After retiring from the navy in 1969 he started York River Nursery in Virginia.
Dick returned to Nova Scotia and set up Bayport Plant Farm in 1973. Diana managed the business, and he focused on crossbreeding rhododendron species and hybrids to produce tough plants for the Atlantic climate. Nancy was in firm command on the domestic front. In 1998, Dick was awarded the gold medal of the American Rhododendron Society. In 2004, he became a member of the Order of Canada.
In the navy, Dick had a reputation for being a no-nonsense, pragmatic sea officer, impatient of formalities and bureaucracy. Yet as a mentor to several generations of plant lovers, he showed great kindness and generosity of spirit. Dick leaves behind friends, colleagues and admirers that span the globe, and a legacy of rhododendrons for generations to come.
John Brett is Dick's friend.