Jewell Steele Obituary

Jewell Rebecca Sowell Steele Lancaster, SC - Jewell Rebecca Sowell Steele, 89, passed away Saturday, March 24, 2018. Mrs. Steele was born February 22, 1929, in Great Falls, SC. She was the daughter of the late Sula Sowell Langley and Benjamin Franklin Sowell. She was a member of Unity ARP Church, a former Sunday School teacher and a member of the Boyce Circle. She graduated from Lancaster High School and was part of the basketball team that won the State Championship in 1946. It was written that Jewell was "pivoting and point-making, the team's leading scorer." She graduated from Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing in Charlotte, NC. She was the youngest in her class in nursing school and excelled in her learning there. She worked in the operating room at Marion Sims Hospital. She also worked in Norman, OK, and Jacksonville, FL, during her husband's time in the Navy. Her predominant work was with the Lancaster County Health Department as a home health nurse. Her nursing did not stop there, as she was known as the community nurse for years and helped many people. Mrs. Steele loved gardening, her home and the land she lived on. She was an excellent steward of the land even though she did not grow up there. She was strong, witty, smart and independent. Her coworkers, friends and family loved her dearly. She will be remembered for her loving nature and being a true Jewell to all of us. Mrs. Steele is survived by her daughters, Nancy S. Parrish of Charleston, SC, and Julie Taylor of Lugoff, SC; sisters, Reba Hallman and Francine Killough, both of Lancaster; brother, Jimmy Sowell and his wife, Clara, of Stanley, NC; grandchildren, Cullen Parrish and his wife, Hilary, Rachel Parrish, Rebecca Richbourg and her husband, Brandon, and Andrew Taylor; and great-grandchildren, Cora Grace Parrish and Hattie Jewell Parrish. Mrs. Steele was preceded in death by her husband, Claude M. Steele; her daughter, Susan Francis Steele; her parents, Benjamin Franklin Sowell and Sula Sowell Langley; and brother, Frank Sowell. The family of Mrs. Steele will be receiving friends from 6:00 until 8:00 pm on Monday, March 26 at McLean Funeral Directors - Mahaffey Chapel. A funeral service will be held at 3:00 pm on Tuesday, March 27 at Unity ARP Church in Lancaster officiated by Rev. Charles Hammond and Rev. Dr. Guy Smith. The family requests that memorials be made to Unity ARP Church Memorial Gardens or Unity ARP Church, 3495 Unity Church Rd, Lancaster, SC 29720. Visit our guestbook at www.legacy.com/obituaries/ charleston