Pearl Steele

Pearl Fruehan Steele passed away on May 21, 2025, at the Pavilion at Penney Farms Retirement Center, Penney Farms, Florida. She was 103 years of age.

Pearl was born on December 14, 1921, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. At 25 years of age, she went to Burma and worked as a secretary for the American Baptist Mission. Pearl received her B.S. degree from Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee. Besides being a secretary / bookkeeper, she was also a teacher.

Pearl moved to Korea in 1956 where she worked in the U.s Foreign Aid Program. After a year in Tokyo, Japan, it was back to Korea where she met and married E. Richard Steele. The couple moved to Hilo, Hawaii in 1964. In Hawaii, she worked for the census bureau and the Department of Health. She loved Hawaii and the years spent there.

In 1987, they moved to College Park, Florida to be closer to her aging parents. In 2022. Pearl moved to Penney Farms Retirement Community where she continued in her active lifestyle.

Pearl was a longtime world traveler, an avid reader and excellent at all kinds of needlework. She loved jigsaw puzzles and playing mahjong. Above all, she had a real soft spot for cats, "Handsome Boy" being her last pet.

Pearl served her community by delivering Meals on Wheels for year. She was a member of College Park Methodist Church, AAUW and other groups of interest to her. Pearl enjoyed many lifelong friends and was faithful at keeping in touch. She loved receiving letters. Pearl was loved by many and will be greatly missed.

Pearl is survived by her twin nieces, Gail Scott (Longwood, FL) and Lynn Hauser (Charleston, SC); 2 grandnephews and 2 grandnieces. She is predeceased by her parents, Fred and Caroline Fruehan; and her husband, E. Richard Steele; and her brother Frederick Fruehan.

A memorial service will be held at the College Park Methodist Church on June 11, 2025 at 10:30 am. The address is: 644 W. Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32804 (407)843-7197

Pearl will be inurned at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii.