William E. Steele III

January 27, 1940 - April 23, 2024

Fort Worth, Texas - William E. 'Bill' Steele III, aged 84, devoted husband and father, passed away Tuesday, April 23, 2024 in Fort Worth.

A Funeral Service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 7, at University Christian Church, 2720 S. University Drive with a burial immediately following at Greenwood Memorial Park, 3100 White Settlement Road, Fort Worth. The family will receive guests at a reception following at River Crest Country Club.

Bill was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Dorothy and William Ernest Steele, Jr.

Bill attended Lamar High School in Houston before moving to Fort Worth. An outstanding student, he graduated a year early from R.L. Paschal High School.

Bill received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Physics from Texas Christian University in 1961 where he was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and ROTC. Bill received many honors at TCU including Class Favorite for two years in a row. It was at TCU that Bill met the love of his life, Sug King. They married in 1962 while Bill was finishing his Master of Business Administration degree.

After receiving his MBA from TCU, Sug and Bill moved to El Paso, Texas where Bill was stationed at Fort Bliss to serve in the U.S. Army - Artillery as a First Lieutenant.

Upon completion of his military service, Bill and Sug moved back home to Fort Worth to start a family and Bill to start his career in business.

Bill briefly worked for IBM before joining K & S Manufacturing, the lawn care manufacturing company owned by his father-in-law, George King. Bill became president of K & S and turned K & S into the country's largest private label manufacturer of Weed Eaters.

A tireless entrepreneur, Bill owned a variety of small and large businesses before concentrating on real estate development and investments. Bill, along with Dave Freeman, founded the general contracting company, Steele & Freeman, Inc. With friends and partners, John Martin and Bob Folsom, Bill founded the industrial real estate firm of Steele, Folsom, Martin.

Bill was a dedicated TCU Horned Frog. One of Bill's proudest accomplishments was becoming a Trustee of TCU. He served on the Board starting in 1986 and continued as an Emeritus Trustee. He took pride in promoting TCU Athletics and found particular joy in helping create the Frog Horn.

Bill loved Fort Worth. He and his wife were involved in numerous organizations that benefited the community. Bill was a former board member of Fort Worth Country Day, a member of River Crest Country Club, The Steeplechase Club, the Fort Worth Club and the Prophets of Persia Krewe of New Orleans.

Bill's passions in life included his many businesses, traveling the world, TCU and his family. Bill would say that his greatest blessing of all was his 62 year marriage to his beloved wife, Sug.

Bill is preceded in death by his parents, Bill and Dorothy Steele, Jr. and his sister, Nancy Steele Gilley.

In addition to his wife Sug, Bill is survived by his four children; daughter Elizabeth Steele Boswell and her husband John, son Bill Steele IV, son George Steele and his wife Emily, daughter Leslie Steele Edwards and her husband, Andy, and grandchildren; Lowell and Ashley Boswell, Elizabeth and Hudson Wiley, Campbell Boswell, Fontaine and Ryan Woods, Kathryn Steele, Andrew Edwards, Claiborne Edwards and William Edwards.

He is also survived by five beautiful great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Texas Christian University or any charity of your choice.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Star-Telegram on May 1, 2024.