Shirley Johan Steele
March 25, 1935 — August 21, 2016
Shirley Johan Steele of Lake Worth passed away on Sunday, August 21st at JFK Hospital. She was 81 years old.
Shirley was born in Frederic, Michigan on March 25, 1935. She was the youngest of nine children. She spent her first years napping on a stack of mail bags at the Frederic Post Office with her mother Mary E. Dunckley, who served as the Frederic Postmaster until 1962.
She grew up in “The Farm House” on Dunckley Trail surrounded by a large extended family, older siblings, and friends. Sitting at the dining room table with a pot of black coffee, her ashtray and a deck of cards, she shared many amusing tales of her childhood. Her smile would light up the room when she spoke of her Dad. How she enjoyed sneaking outside to tinker with him, and leave the “inside chores” to the other girls. There was never a doubt that Ervin C. Dunckley was her Hero. For example, he passed down his love of animals. From a young age she nurtured them all. In our family not much was off limits when it came to animals! Besides our “normal” pets there were turtles, armadillos and squirrels. She even smuggled a monkey onto an airplane in a bag... but that’s another story.
Shirley always had a mind of her own and was not afraid to speak it! We all knew that “if you didn’t want a straight answer, then don’t ask”. She was open and honest. Needless to say it got her in a pickle more than a few times! And when she made up her mind there was no stopping her.
At 18 she fell in love with David Steele. They married on May 9th, 1953 just a few weeks before he shipped out. It wasn’t long before he was home in 1956. That’s when the adventure really started for them. He passed away December 3rd of 2003. 50 years. Together they had children and then grandchildren. They enjoyed the good times and held each other up during bad times. They were best friends, partners till the end. 50 years of adventure...and you should have heard the many tales they had to tell.
Shirley is survived by four children, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Her children: Scott D. (Sandy) Steele of Grayling, MI., Greg P. (Bonnie) Steele of Boynton Beach, FL., Jerome C. (Debbie) Steele of Lake Worth, FL. and Stacey J. (Andy Marterina) Mariani of Lake Worth, FL. Her grandchildren: Jason (Bridgette) Steele of Grayling, MI., David (Michelle) Steele of Boca Raton, FL., Tony (Stephanie) Steele of Boynton Beach, FL., Nicole (Paul) Wasko of Boynton Beach, FL., Danielle (Matt Guntle) Mariani of Boynton Beach, FL. and TJ Mariani of Lake Worth, FL. Her great-grandchildren: Sophie Steele, Paul “Trey” Wasko, Ellie Steele, Hudson Wasko, Jackson Steele, Luke Steele and Sullivan Steele.
Friends will be received at Scobee-Combs-Bowden Funeral Home, corner of US Hwy. #1 & NE 15th Avenue, Boynton Beach on Friday, August 26, 2016 from 5:00 PM until the service time at 6:00 PM.
Shirley was born in Frederic, Michigan on March 25, 1935. She was the youngest of nine children. She spent her first years napping on a stack of mail bags at the Frederic Post Office with her mother Mary E. Dunckley, who served as the Frederic Postmaster until 1962.
She grew up in “The Farm House” on Dunckley Trail surrounded by a large extended family, older siblings, and friends. Sitting at the dining room table with a pot of black coffee, her ashtray and a deck of cards, she shared many amusing tales of her childhood. Her smile would light up the room when she spoke of her Dad. How she enjoyed sneaking outside to tinker with him, and leave the “inside chores” to the other girls. There was never a doubt that Ervin C. Dunckley was her Hero. For example, he passed down his love of animals. From a young age she nurtured them all. In our family not much was off limits when it came to animals! Besides our “normal” pets there were turtles, armadillos and squirrels. She even smuggled a monkey onto an airplane in a bag... but that’s another story.
Shirley always had a mind of her own and was not afraid to speak it! We all knew that “if you didn’t want a straight answer, then don’t ask”. She was open and honest. Needless to say it got her in a pickle more than a few times! And when she made up her mind there was no stopping her.
At 18 she fell in love with David Steele. They married on May 9th, 1953 just a few weeks before he shipped out. It wasn’t long before he was home in 1956. That’s when the adventure really started for them. He passed away December 3rd of 2003. 50 years. Together they had children and then grandchildren. They enjoyed the good times and held each other up during bad times. They were best friends, partners till the end. 50 years of adventure...and you should have heard the many tales they had to tell.
Shirley is survived by four children, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Her children: Scott D. (Sandy) Steele of Grayling, MI., Greg P. (Bonnie) Steele of Boynton Beach, FL., Jerome C. (Debbie) Steele of Lake Worth, FL. and Stacey J. (Andy Marterina) Mariani of Lake Worth, FL. Her grandchildren: Jason (Bridgette) Steele of Grayling, MI., David (Michelle) Steele of Boca Raton, FL., Tony (Stephanie) Steele of Boynton Beach, FL., Nicole (Paul) Wasko of Boynton Beach, FL., Danielle (Matt Guntle) Mariani of Boynton Beach, FL. and TJ Mariani of Lake Worth, FL. Her great-grandchildren: Sophie Steele, Paul “Trey” Wasko, Ellie Steele, Hudson Wasko, Jackson Steele, Luke Steele and Sullivan Steele.
Friends will be received at Scobee-Combs-Bowden Funeral Home, corner of US Hwy. #1 & NE 15th Avenue, Boynton Beach on Friday, August 26, 2016 from 5:00 PM until the service time at 6:00 PM.
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