Geraldine Louise (Sheetz) Steele, 84, went to be with her Lord and Savior Tuesday. Geraldine was born Dec. 8, 1930, in a little home in Loogootee, to Chester and Zelda (Stuckey) Sheetz.
Her father was a military man and she experienced many things through this like traveling through the locks of the Panama Canal, going through Ellis Island into New York, visiting many states, and living in Kentucky, Indianapolis and Hawaii. Hawaii was her primary home growing up while her father was stationed at Pearl Harbor base. The day before her 11th birthday, she and her brother were outside waiting for the church bus when they witnessed the bombs dropping from the planes over Pearl Harbor. Her father rushed to the base while her mother took her and her brothers to the Pali Mountain to hide in the caves. They traveled back to the continental U.S. aboard a ship protected by a destroyer ship later in the month.
After the war, her father retired and they moved to a little farm on the outskirts of Elnora. She and her best friend Mary Lou became the first majorettes in town. One day after school, she was headed to a local restaurant when a handsome stranger who had just returned from the war caught her eye. She held her head high and walked right past him. He turned to a friend and said, “Who the hell is that?” It was love at first sight, and she and Tom married within two years.
They were blessed with three children, Tony (deceased) Carol Steele, Cindy (Ray) Burris, Shane (deceased) Steele; four grandchildren, Scott Steele, Amber (Jeremy) Hudson, Cody Craig and Chelsey Burris; great-grandchildren Nathan, Carter, Avery and Parker Steele, Bailee Parsons, Tyler Malone and Charissa Gutierrez; and three stepgreat-grandchildren, Chase, Mackenzie and Bryleigh Hudson.
Preceding her in death are her parents; brothers Chester Richard and James Robert “Tim” Sheetz; sons Tony and Shane Steele; and many brothers-in-law, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Geraldine attended the United Methodist Church of Elnora ever since she moved to town and rarely missed a Sunday. She taught Sunday school for over 30 years and served on the board. Her passions were her family and her church. She always loved Christmastime and provided many memories for her loved ones during her big family Christmas gatherings. Everyone who ever knocked on her door was welcomed in for coffee and a lively conversation.
Friends may call from 10 a.m. on Friday until the hour of service at the Elnora United Methodist Church.
Services will be held at noon Friday at the Elnora United Methodist Church. Burial will follow at Fairview Cemetery in Elnora.
The family wishes any donations be made to the Elnora United Methodist Church.