Vernon Walter Steele 1875-1966

STEELE, LUIKART, FRAHM

Posted By: Merllene Andre Bendixen (email)
Date: 2/24/2012 at 19:25:22

Steele Dies at Age 91
Vernon Steele, 91, resident of Estherville for the past 20 years, died today at 6:30 a.m. at the Good Samaritan Center where he had been a resident since Sept. 2. His death was attributed to complications of advanced age.

Vernon Walter Steele was born June 12, 1875, near David City, Neb. When he was 17 he moved with his parents to a farm near Edgeley, N.D. As a young man he attended college at Allendale, N.D.

He was married Feb. 14, 1912, to Agnes Luikart at her parents’ farm northeast of Estherville. Following their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Steele moved to Judd, N.D., where he and his brother Fred, operated a grain elevator for 16 years.

Mr. and Mrs. Steele then moved to Lake Norden, S.D., where he operated a bulk oil station for 18 years. They moved to Estherville in 1946 and for two years before his retirement Mr. Steele was custodian at the Emmet Consolidated School.

Mr. Steele, all his life, had a hobby of painting buildings and painted many houses in addition to other buildings.

He was a longtime member of the Presbyterian church and a member of the Odd Fellows lodge.

He is survived by his wife, a resident of the Good Samaritan Center; one son, Col. Ralph Steele of La Crosse, Wis.; one sister, Mrs. Lydia Frahm of Onawa; and two brothers, Fred E. Steele of Jamestown, N.D., and George J. Steele of Butte, Mont.

He was preceded in death by a son, First Lt. Roland Steele, who was killed while serving with the United States Armed Forces on Leyte Island during World War II.

Last rites for Mr. Stele will be Friday at 2 p.m. in First Presbyterian Church, Rev. H. Allen Wirtz officiating. Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Friends may call at the Fuhrman Funeral Home from Thursday until noon Friday when the body will be taken to the church. Friends may call there until the 2 p.m. services. The casket will not be opened after services.

The family has established memorial gifts for First Presbyterian Church. (Estherville Daily News, Estherville, IA, December 27, 1966)