Donald Lee Steele, 85, passed away peacefully in his sleep on September 25, 2026 (what would have been his mom’s 106th birthday). Born in October 1940, in Granite City, Illinois, he spent his childhood in Carbondale, Illinois, Fort Worth, and then Dongola, Illinois. Don lived a life devoted to family and country.

The son of a Baptist preacher, he worked hard to put himself through college, working 40+ hours each week at a fast food restaurant during school (where he survived on leftover burgers during the week and oatmeal with sour milk on the weekends courtesy of a roommate that worked at a grocery store), and during the summers working on a farm hauling hay, working on a road construction crew, working as a mover, and then at a steel mill. He barely (in his words) graduated from college amidst the Vietnam war and rather than wait to be drafted, he applied for a commission as an officer in all military branches. The Air Force was the first to offer him a commission, and after officer training school at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, he was sent to Offutt AFB in Omaha Nebraska, where he met his wife, Mary.

The Air Force sent him to Guam, back to Omaha where his 2 daughters were born, then on to Alaska, Louisiana, San Antonio, and finally Tucson, Arizona before he retired after a 20-year career. He used to tell people that while in the Air Force he flew an LSD-6, or a light, steel desk with 6 drawers. After retirement, Don then returned to San Antonio, where he started and ran a family business before retiring again after a 27-year second career.

Don’s life was defined by self-sacrifice for those he loved, a love of learning, reading, and telling the corniest of dad jokes. He was a good Christian man who led his daughters to Christ, led the family in prayers, and was an example of a Christian head of his household. He was the best husband and best dad two daughters could ever have. Then he became the best grandpa to his favorite grandson. He never asked for anything from us, but he gave us everything. And he is finally free from the Parkinson’s prison he lived in at the end of his life, celebrating in Heaven with his loved ones that preceded him in death.

Don is survived by his wife of nearly 63 years, Mary, his daughters, Tami Clayton and Krista Steele, son-in-law Brian Clayton, grandson Ethan Clayton, sisters Sandy Williams and Betsy Danner, and numerous nieces and nephews and great-nieces and -nephews. Don was preceded in death by his parents, Harry Steele and Bernice (Gordon) Steele, and younger sister Becky Kuntz.

Funeral services will be held on October 14, 2026 at First Baptist Church of Universal City, with visitation at 10:00 am, the memorial service at 11:00 am, followed by internment at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery at 1:15 pm. Dress as comfortable as you wish, and wear bright colors to celebrate Don’s homecoming.