Carolyn Lee Steele was born April 25, 1932, in Hebron, Iowa, the daughter of Carl Simon and Eloise Opal (Binns) Busch, and passed away on Sunday, September 4, 2016, at Caring Acres Nursing and Rehab Center in Anita, Iowa.

The family moved to Casey, Iowa, where Carolyn attended country school and then graduated from Casey High School with the class of 1950.

On April 15, 1951, she was married to William Oliver Steele at the Casey Methodist Church. To this union, three daughters were born –Virginia Lee, Kay Elaine and Gloria Jane. The couple farmed in Adair County until 1994 when they retired and moved to Atlantic, Iowa. Bill and Carolyn moved to Caring Acres in October 2012.

Carolyn was an active member of the Berea Busy Bees, the Anita and Atlantic United Methodist Churches, and the United Methodist Women. She enjoyed her fellowship in the Anita Federated Women’s Club, the Iowa Flying Farmers where she was the Iowa Flying Farmers Queen in 1983 and CCMH Auxiliary where she was president in 2000. Through the years, Bill and Carolyn enjoyed flying in their Cessna 182 airplane and camping at the Iowa State Fair. They were active members of the Audubon County Traveler’s Camping Club. Carolyn was also very gifted in doing handiwork of embroidery and quilting. She was a devoted farm wife, mother and grandmother attending activities of her “girls” and grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Carl and Opal Busch; her husband, William Steele in 2014, a brother, Gerald Busch and her sister and brother in-law, Mary Ann & Jim Chantry.

Carolyn is survived by her daughters, Virginia (Randall) Jensen of Carroll, IA, Kay (Dean) Hansen of Anita, IA and Gloria (Armin) Thielking of West Des Moines, IA; her grandchildren, Kimberly (Patrick) Vollstedt of Carroll, IA, Kevin Jensen of Exira, IA, Natalie (Grant) Kimberley of Ankeny, IA, Nathan (Terri) Hansen of Stuart, IA, Garrett (Anne) Thielking of Wilsonville, OR and Aaron Thielking of Ankeny, IA; her great-grandchildren, Brennan Vollstedt, Austin Kimberley, and Ada, Isaac and Mack Hansen; her sister-in-law, Joyce Busch of Omaha, NE; and many other relatives and friends.

Visitation with family present will be from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 8, 2016, at the United Methodist Church in Anita, Iowa.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Friday, September 9, 2016, at the United Methodist Church in Anita, Iowa.

Burial will be in the Evergreen Cemetery, Anita, Iowa, following the lunch in the church fellowship hall.

Hockenberry Family Care in Anita, Iowa, is in charge of the arrangements and they published the photo and the obituary
.