Steer, Mark

OT 257 - East

Date of Death: 09/08/2012

From The Gazette 56

Mark Steer started attending Ottershaw School in September 1952 and, after gaining 9 GCE ‘O’ level passes, left in 1955, still only 15 years of age.  An East House boy, Mark was well liked for his spontaneity and enthusiasm on the games field.   As an outstanding cross-country runner, Mark won the junior cross-country in 1954 and ran in the school team which won matches against Eton and Raynes Park Grammar School.  He attributed his excellent good conduct record to his ability never to be caught!  He appeared with success in the school play The Importance Of Being Ernest.

Following Ottershaw, Mark was articled to a firm of Chartered Accountants.  Continuing as an outstanding student, he gained first-time passes in all his exams and qualified when aged just 21 as one of the youngest students to do so in the Institute of Chartered Accountants, England and Wales in his year.

Progressing to IBM and then to Diversey, an international company specialising in equipment for the food industry, Mark was appointed Managing Director of the UK company when still only 39 years of age.  Still a keen runner, Mark also completed two London Marathon races, training with his sons early each morning before driving to work!

In 1985, now married with three sons, Mark and Linda decided to move to Devon and make a new life away from the pressures of ‘big business’, living in the beautiful countryside around Bridford, close to Exeter.  Typically he called upon a firm of professional accountants in Exeter and was immediately hired, providing professional financial advice and support to local businesses.  In the light of later events, it was ironic that Mark and Linda had moved to a house a mile across the fields from another Ottershaw Old Boy David Howell and his wife Mary, who was the district nurse for Bridford and Christow.

In 1989, not long after joining the Exeter accountancy, Mark was offered and accepted the position of Finance Director of a local business.  On the day before he was due to join the new company, Mark suffered a tragic accident, falling from a ladder while trimming a branch from a tree in his garden.  The fall left Mark paralysed from the waist down.

With typical courage and the support of his wife Linda, Mark began a whole new chapter in his life.  Mary Howell was an outstanding support to Linda and Mark over the ensuing years and he created an entirely new life from his wheelchair, providing financial support to local companies and building a completely new business with his son, Richard.  It is important to mention the support Mark afforded Dennis Williams in the organisation of monies required for the publication of the book on the life and times of Ottershaw School, Run Like A Stag.

In more recent times Mark enjoyed cruise holidays with Linda and became an enthusiastic supporter of the Exeter Chiefs rugby team.  Tragically, his wife and lifetime carer, Linda, died of a heart attack in July this year.  This highlighted the demands that caring for Mark entailed and, despite the support of Mary and David Howell and his sons, Mark fell ill very shortly after Linda’s death and died on 9 August.  Tributes by the local community in attending both funerals were outstanding, as Mark and Linda had become cornerstones of support and were much loved by friends and neighbours in the village of Bridford.  The attendance of so many people at both funerals demonstrated the extent of love and respect in which they were both held.  The tributes by his sons at Mark’s funeral provided a fine send-off, both happy and sad, for a very special man.

Following his accident, Mark shouldered the challenge his life had become with the courage that was so typical of him.  Maintaining his sense of humour, love and support for his family and friends, he was a pillar of his local community.  He will never be forgotten as he lives on in the hearts and minds of all those who were privileged and fortunate to know him

The funeral was attended by Ottershaw Old Boys Tony Foster, David Hibbert, David Nokes, Bill Minett, David Howell and myself, together with Mary Howell, Christine Minett, Helen Jones and Juliet Bruce.

Peter Jones