At 5:45 A.M. every day, Bob Steel could be found unlocking the buildings of Wayland High School. He would turn on the T.V. in the Commons, empty the outdoor trash cans, clean the bleachers after games, send packages and clean the cafeteria during lunches.

Not stopping for a minute, Steel would then move on to the kitchens and begin cleaning there. Bob Steel was a man in motion.

“He was just a whirlwind…The guy was always moving. There wasn’t enough time in the day for him,” said Ed Konopka, Wayland High School’s head custodian.

One day, when Wayland students came to campus, they noticed that the T.V. in the Commons wasn’t turned on as usual.

The man so many had come to rely on had been hit by a car the preceding afternoon. After remaining in a coma for approximately a week, Bob Steel passed away on December 26th, 2010.

Steel was a longtime WHS custodian and a beloved figure around campus, widely admired for his work ethic and good humor.

“He was definitely all for one, one for all,” said Konopka. “He was a team player. Poor guy would be so tired sometimes he would fall asleep in the break room, and someone would tie his shoes together. But he was always good at taking a practical joke.”

From this loss sprung an outpouring of appreciation and love. To honor Steel’s memory and the qualities he embodied, the new Robert Steel Achievement Award will be presented each year to deserving WHS students.

“Bob was a person of boundless energy, good humor, and an unflagging commitment to working hard, very hard,” said Principal Patrick Tutwiler in an email to the WHS faculty about the new Bob Steel award. “We are looking to recognize students who consistently apply themselves, accept challenges with a positive attitude, and keep working until the job is done.”

At least 50 students were nominated for the award. All of those students received notification of their nomination, and in the end, two students from each grade were recognized with the award.

The senior award winners, Manwon Brisbane and Anna-Lisa Kroll, received the honor during Senior Awards Night on May 31st.

The six underclassmen award winners were presented with the award during Underclassmen Awards Night on June 7th. The winners were juniors Kush Bhagat and Kayla Rice, sophomores Joseph Defina and Mary Downs and freshmen Rosalita Cormier and Michelle Sheffres.

In fact, Defina wrote an English paper about Steel and the other custodians’ roles as unsung heroes of Wayland High School shortly before Steel’s death.

When Steel was in the hospital, Defina wrote him the following note:

“Hi Mr. Steel, My name is Joey Defina, and I’m a sophomore here at Wayland High School, and I wrote this paper a week or so ago for English class. We were assigned a paper to write about someone who is underappreciated and who is very dedicated to their job. You were immediately the first person that came to mind when brainstorming for this paper. On behalf of the faculty, students, and I, we are really thankful for all the hard work and dedication you put into your job, making our school a cleaner and better place. Today, when I was having lunch in the Commons, I already have felt the big change our school is experiencing without you. So please hurry, and get better because everyone here is missing you a whole lot!! Mr. Steel, you’re a great man. I appreciate the hard work you do around here, and I give you the best of luck to get better and can’t wait to see your face back at school. Thanks so much for everything you do for our school, I really appreciate it. Thanks again. Sincerely, Joey.”

“You try to carry on, you try to rebuild, you deal with it. It’s always in the back of your head,” said Konopka. “It was a devastating loss for the whole Wayland community. He’s not someone who can be replaced.”

Matt DeCarlo, a WHS alumnus of the Class of 2010 who worked with Steel, was strongly affected.  “It was just weird. I came back from winter break, and when I heard, it was like ‘Wow.’ It just hit me really hard. It definitely changed the environment for me. When I think of Wayland High School, I think of an awesome sense of impenetrable community, but when something like that happens, it’s devastating. Especially to such a nice guy, like Bob. It just sucked.”

In addition to loving his work, according to Metrowest Daily News, Steel loved football, riding dirt bikes and being with his son.  Steel is survived by his mother and father as well as his stepmother, son, two sisters, his grandparents, and nieces and nephews.

Steel’s mother, Sally Steel, has invited any and all Wayland community members to sign the guestbook created on the Metrowest Daily News website to honor and remember the man who so loved WHS.

Although the T.V. in the Commons was turned on the next day, the buildings were unlocked and the cafeteria was kept clean, the memory of Bob Steel will never be forgotten by the Wayland community.