Fife Lake native Kenneth Leroy Steele, 89, died peacefully in his sleep at Eden Long Care Facility in Kalkaska where he had been a patient for about a month.
He was born Apr 11, 1915, on the farm in Fife Lake where he continued living until shorty before his death. His parents were Ernest Leroy and Una Fay (Price) Steele.
He graduated from Fife Lake High School in 1934. In South Boardman, on Jun 14, 1936, he married Agatha Irene Smith, a school teacher in Crofton who later taught in Fife Lake and Oak Park Elementary in Traverse City. He and Agatha raised their three children: Gordon, Sandra, and Carol, in Fife Lake. When Agatha retired in 1975, they began spending winters in Florida and Arizona. Kenneth was widowed on Apr 2, 1982. On Jul 21, 1993, he married Fern (Strahan) Hackman in Detroit, MI.
Ken was a very active man in the community. He carried mail for a short time in the 1930s, drove school bus for 30 years, was a scout master and worked with the Fife Lake July 4 committee helping put on fireworks. He was assistant chief and was very involved in establishing the Fife Lake Historical Society and the Fife Lake Area Museum. He enjoyed photography and researching the history of the area. He made numerous slide presentations about the early days of Fife Lake. He was honored by the Michigan Historical Society for his many years of work in this field.
He was a farmer but had many other jobs throughout his life. He worked for the power plant in Fife Lake. When there was a power outage, he was the person who got the calls. He also was the person who climbed the poles to change the bulbs for the streetlights. He later ran his own radio and television repair business. He was a general contractor and licensed electrician.
He was a member of the Fife Lake Methodist Church and a former member of the Fife Lake IOOF Lodge.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, and twin siblings. He is survived by his wife Fern; his children, Gordon (Janice) Steele, Sandra (Serge) Mann, and Carol (Wayne) Bancroft; stepson, Richard (Julie) Hackman; grandchildren, David (Debbie) Gaultier, Christina De Vita, Denise (Mike) Palmer, Barbette (Jeff) Lane, Todd (Aspen) Steele, Melissa (Peter) Hembrough, Cynthia (Steve) Gibler, Mark (Brenda) Bancroft, Rebecca (Bancroft) Strahan, and Gregory Bancorft, and step grandchildren, Kathryn and Jennifer Hackman. He is also survived by 25 great grandchildren and one great great grandchild.
Covell-Smith Funeral Home of Kingsley is entrusted with arrangements.
