Donald Steele was born December 17, 1946, to Lewis M. Steele and Annie M. Steele in Nashville, Tenn. He joined the Church Triumphant October 2, 2016. A celebration of his life and of witness to the resurrection will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton, Tenn., at 11 a.m. Friday, October 7, with visitation at the church Thursday, October 6, from 5 to 7 p.m. and again for an hour before the service Friday.
He was preceded in death by his parents; one infant brother; and his nephew, Alexander Lewis Steele.
He is survived by his brother, Lewis M. Steele Jr. and his wife Ann Labounsky Steele of Pittsburgh, Pa.; his former wife, Cynthia Gladney Steele and their son Davidson Macdonald Steele of Homer, La.; his longtime companion, Jeffrey Watkins of Elizabethton, Tenn.; two nieces, Elizabeth Ann Connolly and husband Mike of Pittsburgh, Pa., and their sons Patrick, Jack and Ian, and Claire Janeway LeBeau and her husband Herb and their son Logan of Seattle, Wash.; as well as a multitude of extended Steele, Macdonald and Gladney relatives and friends around the globe.
Don was a graduate of Battle Ground Academy, Franklin, Tenn., and received his BA with honors from Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College), the M. Div. and D. Min. from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Va., M. Theo. as the first Protestant graduate from Maryknoll School of Theology in New York, and the PhD. from University of California at Berkeley and the San Francisco Theological Seminary. He also did chaplaincy work in Omaha, Neb., Williamsburg, Va., and San Francisco, Calif.
During his college and seminary days he served the First Presbyterian Church of Corinth, Miss., the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Austin, Minn., and First Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tenn. Don was ordained to the parish ministry at the First Presbyterian Church of Hinton, W.Va., and then served as pastor of the Spencer, W.Va. Presbyterian Church while also being the Coordinator of the Coalition for Appalachian Ministry and the Commission on Religion in Appalachia and as Special Presbyter for Appalachian Ministry for Greenbrier Presbytery. He was pastor also of the Ruffner Presbyterian Church in Charleston, W.Va. before serving as the director of the Presbyterian Church (USA) World Hunger Program in Atlanta, Ga. He taught at the Franciscan Theological Seminary in Berkeley, and was Dean of the Dr. of Ministry graduate program at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago before moving to Gallup, N.M., to be pastor of the Presbyterian church there. Failing health forced him to take an early retirement. He then volunteered his services at the Sixth Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pa., and the First Presbyterian Church in Elizabethton, Tenn.
Don was the personification of the saying “There is nothing so strong as gentleness and nothing so gentle as real strength.” He was proud of his roots as a Scottish Presbyterian but worked throughout his ministry for ecumenical unity. A son of the South, he worked tirelessly for the dispossessed there and around the world. He was a devoted son, brother, husband, father and friend.
Those wishing to make a memorial should support those causes Don served to promote peace, equality and human rights. Among these are PFLAG, Presbyterian Hunger Program, the Southern Poverty Law Center as well as ministries of the Presbyterian Church in Elizabethton, Tenn. such as Assisted Resource Ministry (ARM), Shepherds Inn and Food for the Multitudes. Online condolences may be sent to the family and viewed by visiting our website at www.hathawaypercy.com.
Hathaway-Percy Funeral and Cremation Services is serving the Steele family. Office (423) 543-5544.