Jewel "Judy" Steely

Jewel Velee Steely, fondly known as Judy, age 90, passed away peacefully on Monday, August 26, 2019 in Porter, TX. She was born to Jewel Houston and Theodore York in Beaumont, TX and was the eldest of five children. She married her husband, Robert “Bob” Wesley Steely on May 8, 1947 and they were married 31 years before he passed in 1978. They had 4 children: Ledora “Candy”, Clay “Sandy”, Wes and April. With her children in tow, she followed her husband all over the country and world as his construction company, Fluor, kept them on the move. Candy and Sandy were born in Beaumont. Before long they headed to Long Beach, CA (1953) where Wes was born. Next, they moved to Grand Junction, CO (1956), Eudora, KS (1961), Colorado Springs, CO (1962), Spokane WA (1963), Tucson, AZ (1964) and Idaho Falls, ID, where April was born. Their next move took them overseas to Chin Hae, South Korea (1966), and Tehran, Iran (1968). Back in the US, they bought a home in Clear Lake City, but moved again to Seneca, IL (1972), back to Iran (1973) and finally again to Clear Lake City (1976).

When she was not packing or unpacking or taking care of her children, Judy shined in a variety of roles. She was a phone operator for AT&T, a mentor for wives travelling overseas, a volunteer at the schools in Korea (as an English teacher) and in Iran (as their librarian). She was very involved with Girl Scouts. While in Tehran, she was the Camp Director at the All Scout/Guide Jamboree. She camped with the girls, but in her own style. She had a large tent with Persian carpets, mattresses, a generator and a fan! Once back in the US, she worked at the local paper doing classifieds. She also became a volunteer extraordinaire: at Mercer Arboretum where she helped set up the gift shop and at Ainsley Courte Assisted Living (now Parsons House Cypress) setting up and managing their library and running the receptionist desk. With her green thumb that fostered many a beautiful plant, her love of an intense game of bridge, and a voracious consumption of books, Judy was never bored.

Judy lived in an apartment for many years after selling her Clear Lake City home and then moved in with her daughter and son-in-law, Candy and Tony. Later, she moved in with her son and daughter-in-law, Wes and Stevee. As her health declined, she moved to an assisted living and then finally into a wonderful personal care home: Loving Comfort Senior Care, where they took excellent care of her until her passing.

Judy is preceded in death by her husband, Robert Wesley Steely, her daughter Ledora Travis, her sisters, Jean Hendricks, Carolyn York-McMahon, her brother, Theodore York, and her daughter-in-law, Wendy Steely.

Judy is survived by one sister, Marilyn Theodora York of Colorado, her son-in-law Tony Travis and three of her four children: Clay York Steely, Wesley Carroll Steely (Stevee) and April Velee Steely (Deborah). She is also survived by her grandchildren Robert Travis, Aaron Travis (Monique), Brett Travis (Amanda), Frances “Dusty” Peterson, Robert “Chip” Steely (Kara), Scott Steely (Valerie), Andrew “Drew” Steely (Laura), Taryn Passmore (Kenneth), Amy Garza (Mike), Amber Eskue (Robert, Jr.), Kate Shafer (Damian) and Jerry "Bubba" Wasson; and great grandchildren Madison and Peyton Travis, Mia and Luca O’Neil, Reese and Rue Travis, Taylor and Trent Peterson, Alaura, Tegan and Brielle Steely, Lily and Luke Steely, Wesley, Troy and Jackson Steely, Felicity, Josephine, Blaise, Dominic and Bridget Passmore, Carius Larsen and Cy Garza, Ayden, Jaxon, Avrie and Rilea Eskue, Alexander and Bennett Fiterman and Adsila, Gabriel and Sophea Wasson.

There will be a graveside service led by Pastor Ben Davis at 9:30 AM Sunday, at Forest Park East cemetery for family and close friends, per Judy’s request. In lieu of flowers, and to celebrate Judy’s love of gardening, volunteering and reading: donations can be made in her honor to the Mercer Arboretum Library. Link below and then click the donate button at the top right.