JC Steele , age 81, Passed away on October  5 ,2024

J.C. Steele, 81 years old, was born on March 8, 1943, in DeKalb, MS and passed away on October 5, 2024. He was the son of the late Alfonzo and Rosezener Steele, and the eldest of sixteen children.

J.C. accepted Christ at an early age and attended Mt. Zion Moscow MB Church. He received his formal education at Whisenton High School. In 1963, he moved to Cleveland, OH with his sister Ruthie and her family.  He was introduced to Mary Sims in 1964 and on December 16, 1967, they were united in marriage. To this union three children were born.

Family was very important to him. In the summertime he enjoyed coaching his son’s t-ball league, riding bikes with his wife and kids, and taking his family home to Mississippi. He spent most weekends playing spades with family until the wee hours of the morning. He worked as a baker at Tip Top Bakery where he began his cherished membership with Teamsters Local Union 507. He really enjoyed working under the union. He joined their annual summer softball league and participated in the holiday party every single year through retirement.

After he left Tip Top, he worked at Seaway Foods (later known as Giant Eagle), a wholesaler of food and grocery products, as a Selector where he remained for 30 years until his retirement in 2000. His retirement didn’t last long as he later landed his dream job as a school crossing guard at Shaker Heights City Schools where his grandchildren were students. He loved this job the most because it allowed him the opportunity to look after his grandchildren and all the other little children walking to and from school and he was adored by the children and their parents. After 15 years, he retired for the second and final time.

J.C. was proceeded in death by his parents; his daughter Latanya (Eric) Smith of Cleveland, OH; his brothers Alfonzo (Pamela) Steele, Jr., of Cleveland, OH; and Lyle Steele of Anderson, IN. He leaves to cherish his memory: his wife, Mary Elizabeth Steele, daughter Shawn (Eloy Sr.) Vazquez and son Torrey Steele, Sr. (fiancé Brittany), all of Cleveland, OH; 4 grandchildren (Torrey Steele, Jr., Eloy Vazquez, Jr., Pilar Vazquez, and Tyson Steele; 1 great grandchild Zoë Vazquez, all of Cleveland, OH; 1 brother Alfred (Francis) Steele of Anderson, IN; and 12 sisters: Ruthie (late Dale) Hughes and Rosie L. Steele of Cleveland, OH; Audrey (late Tommy Sr.) Chamberlain, Rosie M. Harrington, Catherine Steele, and Maxine Bennett (friend Tim “Swain”)-all of Anderson, IN; Helen Jean Love, Dorothy (Robert) Gaines, Tonya (Steve) Williams, and Sheila Steele-all of DeKalb, MS; Margaret (Phil) Gully, of Philadephia, MS; and Shirley Ann (Dwight) Jackson of Preston, MS; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.