Kenneth R. Steele

Ken was born in Miami, Florida on April 24, 1925, and peacefully passed away in his 100th year on November 19, 2024 in the warm care of the West Palm Beach VA hospice. He lived an exemplary life that left the world a much better place for having been among us. Most of his childhood was spent in Atlanta, Georgia, in and out of orphanages as his single parent mother, Clara Clarke Steele, struggled mightily to survive and keep him safe. He found a few years of stability with his mother in the caretaker’s cottage on the grounds of Goodrum House, a renowned mansion in the Buckhead section of the city, which is now a museum.

He never had his own bed until he volunteered for the Marines Corps at 17 during WWII. He fought in the heroic battle of Iwo Jima, surviving the first 11 days, until earning his first purple heart and being evacuated. Ken took advantage of the G.I. Bill to earn a bachelor’s’ degree in economics from Southern Methodist University. Before he could start a career, he again felt the call to serve his country in the Korean War. He returned to the Marines, this time as an officer of a tank platoon. His proudest military accomplishment was not about him or his second purple heart from one of the battles, but that he never lost a man under his command.

After Korea, Ken attained his master’s degree in economics from the University of Southern California where he served as a professor for several years until he entered the banking industry as an investment officer. His banking career took him all around the country and a multi-year stint in Saudi Arabia. When he returned home, he settled in the North Palm Beach area until he retired.

Throughout his long life, Ken lived the Boy Scout Oath he learned as a child - “On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight”. Despite his challenging formative years, he emitted a perpetual optimistic and sunny outlook on life. He lived to serve others, whether as a combat veteran of two wars, a champion coach for the Marine Corps football team, a scout master, a volunteer Spanish tutor of a municipal police force, a Toastmaster’s instructor, an adjunct professor at a local college, a volunteer Police Pension Fund advisor, or book club leader.

Ken’s passion was other people, and his secret to developing lasting and endearing friendships with celebrities or doormen was his sincere and relentless questioning of whomever he was with to learn more about them. Conversely, his natural humility masked his remarkable achievements from all but the most determined inquirer. “Southern gentlemen do not talk about themselves” was his constant refrain. His hobbies were reading and athletics, particularly football, running and tennis. Ken loved all his dogs. Their companionship provided him with continuous comfort and fun, not to mention great conversation starters with people he met, many of whom became some of his best and most loyal friends.

Ken’s amazing mind rivaled the internet in his recall of facts that he consumed from books he read decades before. Hardly a subject could be broached without him surprising you by reciting authors of books that first described innovative economic policy, genetic discoveries or historical events. Fact checkers would have a frustrating time identifying any lack of accuracy in his prodigious memory.

Ken is survived by his “foster family”, Philippe Jeck and Shauna Kranendonk, their daughters Sarah (Jack Hulsberg) and Lauren (Adam Wilson), granddaughters Sadie, Hannah, Drew and Erin; Lydia Land, his loyal caregiver and friend; uncountable friends around country; and extended relatives including a valued

step niece. His example of how to live a life of service made an everlasting imprint on all of their lives. Forever a Marine and a Boy Scout.

A visitation will be held at Aycock-Riverside Funeral Home, 1112 Military Trail, Jupiter, Florida on December 6, 2024 from 10 am to 1 pm, and burial to follow at 2pm at the South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth, Florida. In lieu of flowers (Ken was not a flower guy) donations may be made to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.