James Merrill Steel MD

October 13, 1936 - August 8, 2018

Dr. James Merrill Steel passed away at the age of 81 on Wednesday, August 8, 2018. He passed after peaceful goodbyes with his family and friends. He is now reunited with his wife, Corena, his daughter, Cindy, and other loved ones. Jim was born October 13, 1936 to Harvey and Mable Steel in Oakley, Idaho, as the second of four children. As a precocious young man, he always had the dream of becoming a doctor. He was quite athletic in high school, playing basketball and football as well as playing the saxophone in the school band. He learned to swim in the creek behind his house when he was young, and shared his love of the water with his family. His first big purchase following medical school was a boat, from which many cherished memories were created from all over, especially Lake Powell and Hyrum Dam. Jim showed his determination early on, hitchhiking his way to BYU from Idaho many times. Jim met Corena Miller during his freshman year. She waited for him when he was away on an LDS mission to Germany for nearly 3 years. After he returned home, Jim and Corena were married August 12, 1959 in the Idaho Falls LDS temple. In one of his personal journals from 2000, Jim wrote, “The best thing that happened to me was when I married Corena Miller.” Jim graduated from BYU with a Zoology degree, and then moved to Salt Lake City to attend medical school at the University of Utah. He often joked that his left leg was made of tuna fish sandwiches because that is mainly all they could afford while in medical school. Together, Jim and Corena had five children. They spent residency in San Antonio, TX and Colorado Springs, CO and then moved to Logan, Utah for Jim to open his own practice as an Orthopaedic surgeon. Jim enjoyed travelling and spending time with his grandchildren. Anyone who knew him also knew his grandchildren because Jim always loved to talk about them. He often met his grandchildren for lunch and devotional at BYU. Jim was super generous, both with his time and resources. He served in the LDS church for many years and was a dedicated leader and teacher. Dr. Steel served three missions with his wife Corena: a humanitarian mission in Tonga, a medical mission in Eastern Europe, and an LDS temple mission in Nauvoo, Illinois. He was always happiest when he was serving others. In particular, he loved to use his talents and skills as a surgeon to improve the lives of others. He was extremely proud of his children and their accomplishments. From the time his children were young, he was pushing them to excel in water sports, school, and anything else they passionately pursued. Jim worked very hard to provide a beautiful life for his family. Jim is survived by his children Mark J. Steel (Sammamish, WA), Melinda S. Caldwell (Austin, TX), Heather S. Crossley (Vineyard, UT), Merrill D. Steel (Provo, UT), their families, and his two siblings, LaRae Hales (Highland, UT), Virgil Steel (Santa Clara, UT). A memorial open house will be held Friday, August 24th at 6:30-8:00 pm at the Steel home, 1595 West 1970 North, Provo, UT. Graveside Services will be held Saturday, August 25, 2018 at 1 p.m. at the Logan Cemetery, 1000 N 1200 E Logan, UT 84321. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Shartank.org in honor of James’ granddaughter. Sharktank.org is a research foundation for Cystic Fibrosis. Funeral Directors: Utah Valley Mortuary.