CLEO LEE STEELE

Cleo Lee (Cason) Steele was born on January 21, 1919, in Stephenville TX, to Sydney A. Cason and Mary R. Howard Cason, and passed away at the age of 96, on Monday, January 26, 2015. She was raised with four brothers, Wayne, Weldon, Delmar and Gerald, and three sisters, Ruth, Flaudia, and Loree, and educated in the Stephenville area until she met and married the love of her life Macon L. Steele on Christmas Day 1937, a union that would last 68 years until Macon's passing, in March of 2006. Post World War II, Cleo and Macon relocated from Texas to California and finally settled in Fresno, where they raised their children, Joy and Mike. Ninny, as she was affectionately known by the family and others, sang in the choir at Fresno's First Southern Baptist Church, taught Sunday school, and was an avid golfer playing on the ladies team at Belmont Country Club and scoring the first hole-in-one in the family, she was a wonderful southern cook and great Mom. She is survived by her daughter, Joy Strickland and husband John; grandson, John S. Strickland III and wife Karen; granddaughter, Jana and husband Brian Trukki; son, Don Michael "Mike" Steele and wife Susan; grandson, Eric and wife Stephanie Steele; granddaughter, Erin Steele-Klimiuk and husband Shem; along with great-granddaughters, Claire and Emma Zelasko, Morgan and Taylor Strickland and great-grandsons, Lincoln and Elliot Steele. A special thank you to the staff of Cottonwood Court Assisted Living for their commitment, care and love during the last two and a half years and to the nursing and support staff of St. Agnes Hospice. A Viewing will be held at the Farewell Funeral Chapel, 660 W. Locust Avenue, on Friday, January 30, 2015, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. A Public Memorial Service will be held at Farewell Funeral Chapel, on Saturday, January 31, 2015, at 11:30 a.m. A Private Family Interment Service will be held. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital; or St. Agnes Hospice, 6729 N. Willow, Fresno, CA 93710.