It was with extreme sadness that I learned yesterday of the passing of Steele Therkleson.
Steele passed away on October 1st.
His name is probably not known to a great many of you, which is not the way things should have been. New Zealand born, Steele was the key engine man for Shelby American through the entire GT40 programme. Not only did his presence feature in many of the pit and workshop photos of the period as he worked on the Shelby team cars, but his love of photography also provided many of the best colour photos that were used in my first book, and many of the best colour shots in Dave Friedman’s Shelby GT40 book were also Steele’s photos, though since neither Dave nor I credited individual photos, only those in the know could tell which those photos were. I will be featuring many of Steele’s photos in my new GT40 book, and every one will be acknowledged to the friend I have lost. I will never get over the sadness that he will not now see his photos in the book.
I first met Steele in Los Angeles in 1982, and within half an hour of saying hello to him I felt I had known him for years. From that day I considered him to be a friend first, and a key member of the Shelby American personnel second. Sadly I do not travel as much as I would like, so the last time I saw Steele was when he drove me to LAX airport when I was leaving after staying with him for a few days in 2007 while I scanned – at Steele’s invitation – every GT40 transparency he had. I was in tears as I saw him drive off round the corner, as I doubted I would see him again. And so it has turned out.
I apologise for this posting being personal rather than GT40 specific regarding Steele’s immense contribution to the whole success of Ford’s Le Mans project. There will be time for that later. But right now, personal is how I feel.
My heartfelt condolences to Steele's family and friends
God rest you, Steele.
Ronnie Spain
Steele passed away on October 1st.
His name is probably not known to a great many of you, which is not the way things should have been. New Zealand born, Steele was the key engine man for Shelby American through the entire GT40 programme. Not only did his presence feature in many of the pit and workshop photos of the period as he worked on the Shelby team cars, but his love of photography also provided many of the best colour photos that were used in my first book, and many of the best colour shots in Dave Friedman’s Shelby GT40 book were also Steele’s photos, though since neither Dave nor I credited individual photos, only those in the know could tell which those photos were. I will be featuring many of Steele’s photos in my new GT40 book, and every one will be acknowledged to the friend I have lost. I will never get over the sadness that he will not now see his photos in the book.
I first met Steele in Los Angeles in 1982, and within half an hour of saying hello to him I felt I had known him for years. From that day I considered him to be a friend first, and a key member of the Shelby American personnel second. Sadly I do not travel as much as I would like, so the last time I saw Steele was when he drove me to LAX airport when I was leaving after staying with him for a few days in 2007 while I scanned – at Steele’s invitation – every GT40 transparency he had. I was in tears as I saw him drive off round the corner, as I doubted I would see him again. And so it has turned out.
I apologise for this posting being personal rather than GT40 specific regarding Steele’s immense contribution to the whole success of Ford’s Le Mans project. There will be time for that later. But right now, personal is how I feel.
My heartfelt condolences to Steele's family and friends
God rest you, Steele.
Ronnie Spain