- Date Of Birth: June 14, 1922
- Date Of Death: February 19, 2008
- State: Iowa
Otto Scott Steele, Jr., son of Dr. Otto Scott Steele, Sr., and Rachel Merrill Steele, was born on June 14, 1922, in New Concord, Ohio, and passed away in Pella, Iowa, on February 19, 2008, at the age of 85.
Otto spent his boyhood in several Ohio communities where his father was a Methodist pastor. The family moved to West Lafayette, Indiana, in 1933. Otto graduated as valedictorian from West Lafayette High School in 1940. In 1944 he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from DePauw University, where he lettered in baseball and played violin in the university symphony. In 1951 he received a Doctor of Theology degree from Boston University School of Theology.
Otto met Mildred Romedahl, of rural Madrid, Iowa, at the 1946 World Student Christian Federation Conference in Switzerland, where they served as the two U.S. delegates. They married September 4, 1947. Otto and Mildred had four children, a son who died in infancy, Martha (Marty) Steele Knepper, John Steele, and Timothy Steele.
Otto entered the Methodist ministry and was ordained deacon in 1946 and elder in 1947.
Dr.
Otto headed anti-gambling forces in Iowa for over 40 years. He wrote many letters to the editor, often published in the Des Moines Register, and he was an unpaid lobbyist at the Iowa Statehouse.
Otto was an avid baseball fan.
In early 2005 Otto was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia, a degenerative illness. In 2006 Otto and Mildred moved to Vriendschap Village assisted living facility in Pella. In late 2006 Otto moved to the Long Term Care Unit of Pella Regional Medical Center.
Otto was preceded in death by his parents, Otto and Rachel Steele, and his sister-in-law, Josephine Said.
10:30 A.M. Saturday, April 5, 2008
Pella, Iowa
Saturday, February 23, 2008
family will be present 1:00 – 3:00 P.M.
Pella, Iowa
