Thelma B. Steele
Thelma B. Steele, 95, of South Charleston, WV, passed away on January 23, 2026, after a long and beautiful life. Thelma, known as Peaches by her family, was born on August 10, 1930, to Frank and Mabel Hedrick Bailey of Cedar Grove, WV. After graduating from Dupont High School, she pursued a career in medical records.
Thelma married the love of her life, Earle D. Steele, in 1951. They began their married life in Logan, then Parkersburg, settling in Charleston, where they raised their family. Thelma was a devout Christian woman and devoted wife and mother. She dedicated many hours to the First United Methodist Church of South Charleston, and after retirement, First Presbyterian Church of Inverness, Florida.
Thelma is preceded in death by her parents, Frank and Mabel Bailey; husband, Earle D. Steele; siblings, Mildred Steele Sanger, Virginia Tootsie Jolly, Merell Mike Bailey, Dag Bailey, and Paul Bailey; and various loved aunts, uncles, cousins, and longtime friends.
Thelma is survived by her son, Bruce Steele (Betsy); his children, Elizabeth Steele Hernandez, Matthew Steele (Molly), Michael Steele (Diane), and Emily Steele; her daughter, Amy Allison Craft (Greg); and her children, Christoper Allison and Daniel Allison (Sarah).
Thelma has been blessed with 9 great grandchildren, 2 step grandsons, and 3 great step grandchildren from the Craft family.
Thelma is also survived by various cousins, nieces and nephews.
This long and beautiful life is filled with her personal touches. Thelma was an avid gardener, enjoyed sewing and creating. She was a wonderful cook, famous for so many dishes filled with love, but especially her peanut butter fudge, and potato salad, just to name a few.
Feeding her family was truly one of her greatest joys. “Well done, good and faithful servant…” Matthew 25:23
A Service to Honor the Life of Thelma will be held in the Spring of 2026 at the Donel C. Kinnard Memorial State Veterans Cemetery in Dunbar, WV. Thelma will be entombed with her husband at that time.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Kanawha Hospice Care Inc. of West Virginia. (https://www.hospicecarewv.org/make-a-donation/) Thank you.
Memories of Thelma may be shared by visiting http://snodgrassfuneral.com and selecting the obituary. Snodgrass Funeral Home, South Charleston, is handling the arrangements.
I meet Thelma through her lovely daughter Amy. She was always so sweet and easy to talk to. I was chosen to sit with her one afternoon not long ago. That was such a wonderful few hours. At the time I was blessed to hear her life story from she was
a child. How her Aunt Tootsie took them in when her Mom passed and how hard her aunt worked to give her a good life right through all her moves and back to WV. How much she loved the fact she got back to WV and what a wonderful life she had living “ On the Hill” as she called it with her wonderful daughter and son in law. I just let her tell me all about it. What a wonderful woman she was and how blessed I am that I was given the opportunity to meet her and spend time with her. Rest in peace beautiful lady.
I adored Thelma. She was always so much fun to be around. Her smile was contagious as was her giggle. I met her through the marriage of my sister Betsy to her son Bruce. They were always so good to her especially after Earl passed. Their children all had special memories of Peaches and will miss her so much. Thelma left her beautiful imprint on everyone she met. She is so missed already. May she rest in peace in the arms of our gracious, loving Lord.
Aunt Peaches was my grandmother’s baby sister. She was the last surviving sibling. She was such a sweetheart and so funny! She always kept me laughing. I will miss her a lot.
Dear Amy, I’m so very sorry for the loss of your beautiful mom. I didn’t know her that well, but the one time I met her she was such a sweet lady. Condolences to you and your family!