Mildred Lee Steele

Lee “Please Don’t Call Me Mildred If You Know What’s Good For You”. Steele was born on August 4, 1934 on the Engelking family farm in Hubbard, Iowa. The third of four children born to Carl and Marie Engelking, Lee was a good student, a beautiful piano and clarinet player and an avid basketball player. She did her duty with the family farm chores until graduating from high school and spent a year at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. When finances forced her to suspend her college career, she worked as an operator at a radio station until she was accepted into the flight attendant training program with United Airlines.

Flying for United took her from Iowa to Newark, New Jersey where she shared an apartment with three other airline attendants: Dee Claflin, Mary Lou Roux and Mary Ann Corradi,who introduced Lee to Logan Boone Steele. Mary Ann was engaged to James Corradi, Logan’s childhood buddy and current roommate. Though skeptical at first, Lee eventually warmed to Logan’s charm and horrific dance moves and, looking past his initial faults of being musically challenged, they began to date. The bonds of friendship continued long after the ladies all retired from United Airlines, and they loved to reunite whenever possible.

When Lee married Logan in Englewood, Florida, they began a lifelong attachment to the state, even though their work kept them in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for three seasons of the year. Logan eventually went into the development business as a civil engineer and Lee did the heroic homeland duties expected of mothers at the time: raise the kids, keep a beautiful home and help her husband with the business, which she perfected until Logan’s death in 1986. By then, the business was a successful enterprise, and Lee “retired” at age 52, though she never stopped being a wonderful mother and manager of the legacy Logan left behind. She was very close to Logan’s business partner, “Uncle” Harry Schoettle and his wife, “Aunt” Jackie Schoettle. The four of them spent their days building up Lake Naomi/Timber Trails in Pocono Pines, PA, while finding time to relax in Ft. Lauderdale when the ground was frozen in the Poconos. Lee and Jackie both enjoyed their time as members of the Ft. Lauderdale Garden Club, engaging in many philanthropic activities, playing tennis, and enjoying the holidays with extended family and friends.

Two notable family friends that crossed into “extended family” are Penny and A. Jon Frere. Lee had a special place in her heart for “Jon & Penny” as they were frequent travel companions, confidants and part-time caregivers and mentors for Val and Jeff when they were youngsters. For Lee, chosen members of family were just as important and valuable as those who were members by birth.

Lee’s parents passed on after she married Logan, but she maintained close and loving relationships with her siblings and their families: Brother Merlyn “Pringle” Engelking, sister Doris Engleking, and little brother Rick Engelking. Lee will also be missed by her in-laws and their families, whom she embraced as her own. Routinely, relatives would be visiting, living with or travelling with The Steeles, and all were made to feel loved and welcomed - as long as they knew when to leave for their next destination. This was also true for Lee’s own children, Jeff and Val, who were encouraged to go out into the world and not hang around the house too long. 

Fortunately, Val was able to live and work close to Lee to provide love and comfort throughout the years, while Jeff was travelling and working in galaxies “far, far away.” Christmas was special to Lee because it was guaranteed family time and she decorated and planned for many beautiful, delicious, and happy holiday celebrations. Friends and family from all over would arrive at the Ft. Lauderdale house, and “Grammy’s Christmas” became a fun Christmas Eve event for her four grandchildren. The gifts were usually off-the-wall and the humorous themes were as unpredictable as they were delightful.

Lee was an avid golfer, playing many different courses—including her bucket list favorite: St. Andrews Old Course in Scotland. She wore her Wild Pines Club Champion title with pride, and enjoyed constantly outscoring her son and grandson who were twice her size but couldn’t hit the ball as straight and consistently as she did. This made sense when her proclivity for puzzle-solving was taken into consideration. She played table games, crossword puzzles and Sudoku with a zeal which impressed (and intimidated) those who watched her—or played against her. Two-thousand-piece jigsaw puzzles were no match for her, and many of the beautiful, finished pictures were often seen scattered around the house like paintings. Later in life, she got hooked on Mahjongg and delighted in the social and competitive aspects of the game. From dogsledding in Alaska, ocean kayaking off the Georgia coast, planting trees at the Grand Canyon, cruising the Caribbean and traveling through Europe, to her beloved daily routine of breakfast at Joe’s Café, Lee lived life to its fullest.

Lee also gave generously to the Disabled Veterans cause, the Nature Conservancy (for her love of birds, plants, flowers, and big cats), Wekiva Youth Camp and The Campership Fund, which was a charity designed to send financially challenged young people out into the countryside to experience the joys and growth of attending summer camps. She saw the benefits it brought to her own children and grandchildren and wanted to offer the opportunity to as many south Florida kids as possible.

Lee passed away peacefully at her home on June 24, 2023, after a long and well-traveled life and career. She is survived by her sister Doris Engelking Sandberg, brother Richard “Rick” Engelking, her children Valerie Steele and Jeffrey Callaway Steele (Chrissy), her  grandchildren Logan Steele Herrera, Annalicia, Boone and Olivia Steele, eight nephews, two nieces and many “grand” relations spread far and wide. She will be missed by all of her family members, and the many dear friends who came to know and love her for her generosity, unpredictability, and “pull-no-punches” attitude.

We will have a Celebration of Life at Joe’s Café on August 12th, from 3:30-6:30 to toast her with a root beer float and share our fond memories. Wear brightly colored clothes – extra points for golf or gardening attire. In lieu of flowers, please donate to one of her favorite causes.