Ellis W. Steele

Ellis W. Steele, 87, of Silver Lake, passed away Saturday, August 21, 2010.

He was born September 13, 1922 in Fulton, Mississippi, the youngest of four children in the family of Melvin and Dezzie Johnson Steele. As a young child his family moved to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas where Ellis grew up on the family citrus orchard and cotton farm then graduated from Santa Rosa High School. Following the family pattern of his older brother, Ermon, who served in the navy and his sister, Elizabeth, who joined the army as a registered nurse, Ellis served in the United States Marine Corp. He earned the Purple Heart Award while serving on the U.S.S. Enterprise in the Pacific during WW II.

Ellis married his Texas neighbor and high school sweetheart, Mary Hardee on Sept. 29, 1943. After finishing his duty with the Marine Corp., Ellis graduated from Durham Business College in Austin, TX. He moved to Topeka where he worked as the comptroller and office manager for Meadow Gold Dairy for 38 years. Upon retiring from Meadow Gold he worked as an accountant for Aldersgate Village for 6 years.

Ellis enjoyed pitch card tournaments with his wife, Mary at Stach School, which is now the one-room school on display at the Kansas History Museum. He also coached little league baseball in Silver Lake and was a project leader for the Grove 4-H Club. Ellis took great pride in attending and helping with his 3 sons and 5 grandsons' horse shows, ball games, track meets and 4-H events.

Mary preceded Ellis in death on July 1, 2006. The survivors include his brother, William Thellis and wife Myrtle Steele of Santa Rosa, TX. Other survivors include three sons and their wives: Jim and Betty Steele, Topeka; Jack and Carolyn Steele, Silver Lake; Joe and Joleen Steele, Topeka; along with the grandsons: Doug Steele, Brad Steele, Kelly Steele, Kyle Steele and Tyler Steele and wife, Laura.

Funeral services will be 10 a.m., Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at the Penwell-Gabel Parker-Price Chapel, 245 NW Independence Ave, Topeka, KS 66608. Interment will follow at Prairie Home Cemetery, Topeka. Mr. Steele will in state after 3 p.m., Tuesday at the funeral home where the family will receive friends from 7-8 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to Heart of America Hospice, 3715 SW 29th St., Suite 100, Topeka, KS 66614 or to Alzheimer's Association, 4125 SW Gage Center Drive, Suite LL-15, Topeka, KS 66604.