Jim Robbins Steele, age 72, of Dubuque

    Jim Robbins Steele, age 72, of Dubuque, formerly of Malvern, died Dec. 17, 2009, at the Dubuque Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. A Celebration of Life ceremony was held Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009, at the Harbor Room of Diamond Jo Casino in Dubuque. Interment was in the Malvern Cemetery.

    The youngest of five children of James Miller “Jack” and Gladys Julia (Robbins) Steele, he was born in Malvern on Aug. 21, 1937. Affectionately known as Jimmie, he graduated from Malvern High School in 1954.  In 1958, he graduated from the South Dakota School of Mines and then earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Black Hills Teachers College in 1960.  Mr. Steele continued his education by earning a Masters of Education degree in special education from Northeast Missouri State Teachers College in Kirksville, Mo., in 1964.

    He began his teaching career in Le Grand, where he taught for six years followed by three years at Maquoketa.  In 1967, he began a 22-year career with the Dubuque Community School District, retiring in 1989.  He is known for quietly helping his special education students, exceeding any expectations placed upon him as a teacher.

    His enjoyments included operating his amateur radio station, WBØGNV, time spent at the family cabin near Rochford, S.D., card games of any description, and was known as a keen blackjack player.  He was an avid Iowa Hawkeye sports fan and enjoyed the lawn game of croquet. In recent years, he enjoyed spending winters in Mesa, Ariz.  Following the death of his father, he became an attentive caregiver for his mother, enabling her to remain in the family home in Malvern.

    The lifelong effects of cerebral palsy forced him to enter the Dubuque Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, where he died.

    In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two infant brothers; his sisters, Julia Jean McCausland; and Marjorie Claire Zanders. He is survived by a niece, Susan McCausland of Rockford, Ill.; nephews, W. D. “Mac” McCausland, III of Waterloo; William L. “Larry” Zanders; and Jeffery M. Zanders, both of Malvern; great nieces and nephews, and great-great nieces and nephews; other relatives and friends.

    Memorials suggested to Special Olympics, Rochford Chapel or the James R. Steele Memorial Fund.

    Mansfield-Hertz Funeral Home of Malvern was in charge of arrangements.