Steve Gele

Architecture as Vocation and Survival

Professionally, Steve trained as an architect at the University of Houston. He launched his own firm in 1977 and built a solid career that spanned commercial development in Houston, San Antonio, and Austin.

The Calling: Medical Missions in Latin America

A chance encounter with a Franciscan priest from Panama became a calling. Initially offering architectural help, Steve soon found himself leading medical teams into remote, underserved indigenous communities. What started as an effort to build a schoolhouse turned into an epiphany: “God taught me—it’s a disaster, Steve. You thought you were a builder, but you’re not. You’re going to be a medical missionary.”

He and his wife Diane, an interior designer, founded Christian Medical Missions, ultimately organizing up to seven mission trips a year to Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, and Guatemala. They served populations living in isolated rainforests, often without access to healthcare or education. One tribe—the Kuna—had never seen a doctor before.

Steve's pragmatic approach to humanitarian work balanced logistics, cross-cultural sensitivity, and spiritual purpose. Even though the schoolhouse never got built, the missions treated thousands and changed lives—both of villagers and volunteers. “They’re happier than our Westlake families,” Steve says of the indigenous communities, “because they don’t have the burden of modern expectations.”

Rotary: Local Action with Global Resonance

Steve’s commitment to service found a natural home in Rotary. Having joined Westlake Rotary in the early 1990s, he’s been a backbone of the club’s local outreach for decades. He led or supported dozens of District Assistance Program (DAP) grants, including:

  • Little Free Libraries

  • Beehive play structures

  • Pop-up birthday kits for foster youth

  • Robotics kits for Scout troops

  • Mission-driven grants involving cross-border partnerships with Rotary clubs in Monterrey, Mexico

He remains particularly proud of the club’s now-defunct international grant-sharing system, where each club (Westlake and Monterrey) alternated project leadership every other year. “They took care of you like you were in a spa,” Steve recalls of the Monterrey Rotarians, noting the personal hospitality that exemplified the spirit of international fellowship.

At a deeper level, Steve sees Rotary not just as a service club, but as a generational bridge. “We’re losing the service ethic,” he warns. “Parents are too busy driving their kids. Young people don’t even know what Rotary is.” His vision includes more casual social gatherings (like crab boils and cookouts) to strengthen bonds beyond lunch meetings.

Conclusion: A Life in Full

Steve Gele’s story is a mosaic of roles: builder and restorer, missionary and businessman, Rotarian and realist. He blends personal resilience with generational wisdom, community loyalty with global compassion. Through decades of highs and lows—economic collapse, family transitions, cross-cultural missions—he has remained rooted in the belief that a meaningful life is built on service.

Because as Steve proves again and again: history only lives if we make space for it—and each other.