Luther Jay Steele

Luther Jay Steele
Passed away peacefully July 2, 2009 with his family at his side. He was 93 years old. He is survived by loving wife Dorothy he married 64 years ago. He was preceeded in death by his children John Luther (Linda) and Ronnie Jay, he is survived by children Larry (Sandy) Steele, Sandi (Bill) Bishop of Mogadore and Shirley Martin of Virginia. Grandchildren, Debbie (Lewis) VanLandingham, Ryan Steele, Lindsay (Casey) Stone, Melissa (Greg) McLain, & Mandy (Jim) Osborne. Luther was born & raised on the farm of his great-grandfather in Virginia, the first boy after 6 sisters, he was born strong & hardy, he had an unusual resistance to illness & disease, even surviving diphtheria as a youth. At 18 years of age he went to work in the coal mines, excelling at outworking the older & larger miners. He was a star baseball player for the coal mining team where he worked & because of this he was deferred from the draft of WW II, without his knowledge. Luther tried to enlist and do his duty, but was turned down due to having black lung, after this, he simply walked out of the mines & with a wife & children went to Akron, Ohio to begin working at Goodyear. He eventually began a new life with wife Dorothy. While working at Goodyear he also took up a car mechanics job, working very hard at these 2 jobs for over 26 years. Mechanical ability, strong intellect & honesty were his strong points, he was known as the mechanics mechanic & someone you could trust. He was very active in the Masonic lodge and square dancing, he also loved boating and traveling, spending many years wintering in Florida. He retired from Goodyear and mechanics but still going full speed ahead with things he loved & not paying much attention to aging. As he used to say, "Life holds no promise of tomorrow," peace be with him. Calling hours will be Monday, July 6, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at Newcomer Funeral Home, 131 N. Canton Rd., Akron, where a Masonic service will be at 7 p.m.
NEWCOMER FUNERAL HOME, 330-784-3334