Obituary of Mildred Louise Steel

We are sad to announce the passing of our beloved mother, grandmother, great and great great grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, and a friend to many.

Mildred Louise Steel was born to Rolla and Pearl Puder on December 26, 1920. She was born on a farm north of Martinsburg, Iowa, in a community called Monkey Den. She was the middle sister of three. Her older sister was Marie VandeKrol (Harold) and her younger sister was Virginia Taylor (Delbert). She outlived both of her sisters.

Mildred accepted Christ as her Savior at the age of 12.

Mildred met James L. Steel when she was 14 years old and he was 21. They were at a church conference. James and his brother sang at the conference. Mildred thought he was cute but he didn’t notice her. Months later they were at the same church and started talking. They communicated through letters and would only see each other on Sundays. On July 1, 1937, they eloped to Missouri. They were secretly married for a few months until Mildred’s sister, Marie, read in Mildred’s bible that James had written “July 1, 1937” beside Proverbs 18:22 “He who finds a wife, finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.” After that, they lived with their folks for a while.

One of their first jobs was working at a jail. The jail gave them a little apartment. James cleaned and Mildred cooked for the inmates. On November 29, 1940, their first son, Jimmie, was born. On February 4, 1943, a second son, Bill, was born. James was called to serve in the Navy and while he was at war, his daughter, Nancine, was born on April 20, 1945.

James and Mildred lived in Iowa until 1953, when they moved to Arkansas and shortly after, moved to Longmont, Colorado. Mildred was a housewife and a working companion to James. She worked awhile at the Longmont turkey plant, the cyclone filter plant, and at Bailey’s Family Carnations. She loved that job, bringing home lots of carnations daily that couldn’t be sold. Mildred was a great cook. Sundays she got up really early to prepare a nice lunch as she knew James would be inviting someone over after church.

After James and Mildred retired, they moved to Greeley. After James died in 1995, Mildred started attending Fellowship Chapel in Greeley. In 1998, she moved to Windsor to be closer to her daughter. Many years later, due to health problems, she moved into Jerry and Nancine’s home (October 7, 2022). She still liked to be busy. Every day she would say “What are we going to do today?” She would go through recipes, recipes, and more recipes — keeping the best ones, knowing she would probably never use them again. On other days, she sorted and folded items in her drawers.

Although Mildred was in Hospice Care, she still kept going. Never wanted to miss church and wanted to go if the car was going. She had an amazing mind to the very end. Her nieces and nephews loved to reminisce and would call her with their questions, as she was the last person to know information. Her children call her “blessed”. Every day her two sons called her on the phone. She looked forward to those calls.

Until we meet again, Jesus, we thank you for her life her display of unconditional love, and her love for you.

Survived by son, Jim, and wife Sharon (Brown); son, Bill, and wife Cherine (Peppler); daughter, Nancine, and husband Jerry Marsh; adopted family Jim and Cheryl Martin, and Jenny and Josh, who loved her as their own mother and she loved them; and by many beloved family members including grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren, as well as many friends.