Lawrence Richard Steele

He was born on October 24, 1938, in Kansas City, Missouri, to Charles Edgar and Grace Elba (Shaw) Steele. Sonny was the second of four children, but the only boy. He grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, in the Rosedale neighborhood, attending St. Agnes Catholic School. He spent a lot of his youth looking after his three sisters, Carol (Seitter), Mary Ann (Roy), and Margaret (Muehlbach)—serving as a “protector” even if they weren’t interested in him doing so.

As a young man, he met and married his first wife, Helen. And with her, had two children- Christine (who everyone calls Chris) and Dwayne Scott (but everyone only knows him as Scott). Unfortunately, Sonny and Helen divorced, and a few years later, he married Sharon (Wampler). Sharon brought three children into the marriage- Beverly (who everyone knows as Bev), Richard Dean (but everyone only knew him as Dean), and Jodi. Dad loved us all equally.

Larry worked many jobs and careers over his lifetime—milk deliveryman, bread baker, machinist, and crossing guard; and he had some hobbies, too—hunting with his brothers-in-law and later his sons, antiquing or crafting with his wife, spectating at his daughters’ softball games, woodworking, car repair, motorcycling, and even owning a handyman business. He retired from TWA in 2000.

He was a pro at many things—sneaking kids into a drive-in movie in the back of his covered pick-up truck, camping with the family, fishing on those camping trips, building epic fires on those camping trips (often using gasoline instead of lighter fluid), and driving on road trips- near and far.

Larry joined the Abdallah Shrine in the late-1990’s and spent much of his free time, along with Sharon, participating in various clubs, serving on the Divan once and serving as Chief Aid many times, and enjoying trip after trip after trip (well, enjoying may be a stretch, but he was always along for the ride!). He was fortunate to serve in many roles with Scott once he also joined the Shrine.

He was often quiet, sometimes dozing in a comfortable (or uncomfortable) chair, but he was always ready to help anyone who needed it. He was shockingly witty, with a zinger out of nowhere sometimes. He was stoic but loving—you knew he loved you all the time, but he didn’t say it often. He was creative—crafting wooden toys at any moment a grandchild asked. He was sneaky—often hiding a Christmas gift or two until all the hoopla was over and pulling it from its hiding place like a lost treasure for the receiver. He was an amazing husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather. And he will be dearly missed.

Lawrence (Larry, Sonny) Steele was preceded in death by his parents, his sisters, and a son. He is survived by his wife of 50-years Sharon (Wampler), his daughter Chris (Bill) Pronovost, his daughter Bev (Jay) Sturtz, his son Scott (Jennifer) Steele, and his daughter Jodi (Eric) Easter. He is survived by seven grandchildren (Jessica, Kurtis, Katie, Brittney, Ethan, Sophia, and Christopher), five great grandchildren (Haze, Lily, Ellie, Raylon, and Nolan), too many nieces and nephews to count, great-nieces and great-nephews, and one very dear cousin, Linda Potter.

A visitation service will be held Wednesday, September 4, 4:00-6:00 p.m. at Mt. Moriah, Newcomer & Freeman Funeral Home. The funeral will be held Thursday, September 5, 10:00 a.m. at Mt. Moriah with a graveside burial to follow in Mount Moriah Cemetery South.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Children's Transportation Fund at Abdallah Shriners, 5300 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park, Kansas, 66202, in Larry's name. These donations cover the costs for children to be transported to the Shriners Hospital for Children in St. Louis for treatments and appointments.