MSgt (Ret) Bobby Donnell Steele

Bobby Donnell Steele, age 74, of Biloxi, passed from this life on Saturday, February 9, 2019 after a lengthy illness. A native of Charlotte, NC, Bobby graduated from Second Ward High School where he was an active music and band student and Piedmont Community College before enlisting in the USAF in 1965. Retiring in May 1991, after serving 26 years as a Medical Corpsman and a Bio-environmental Engineering Technician, his tours included Texas, Libya, Maine, California, Oklahoma, Germany, and Mississippi. Bobby graduated from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in 1997, after taking the VICA team to national competition. winning the gold medal. He was employed at Beau Rivage for 15 years, retiring in 2013. Bobby enjoyed a second career as an award-winning singer/actor and tour director during his 16-years competing in Air Force worldwide talent competition, serving two tours as the USAFE Showcase Director. After arriving at Keesler in 1985, he quickly became a popular musical theater performer on the Coast, making famous his roles in The Wiz, Little Shop of Horrors and Driving Miss Daisy. He especially enjoyed singing with daughters, Janie and Shayna, who were part of the Keesler Blue Review. He was a volunteer with Lynn Meadows WINGS Theater and the popular MC of their annual DREAMS concert. On his 58th birthday, he was invited to take the stage with The Temptations, singing "'My Girl" to a standing ovation. Bobby was a dearly beloved husband, father, and grandfather and will be forever missed by his family and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, David and Elizabeth Steele; grandmother, Leola Love; sister, Sonia Campbell; and brothers, David and Sylvester Steele. He is survived by his devoted wife and best friend of 46 years, Lorraine (Kande) DeGrasse-Steele, Biloxi; sons, Bobby Steele, Jr. (Alysia), Oxford, MS and Stephen Steele, Columbus, OH; daughters, Janie Reverse', Judi Hallett (fiancé, David Thames), Biloxi, and Shayna Steele Cook (David), Maplewood, N.J.; grandchildren, Mariah Stewart (Nick), Ava Holley, Dominique, Isabella, and Ryan Reverse', Matthew Steele Gabrielle Estose, and Caia Cook; brothers, Reginald and Lafayette Steele, Charlotte, NC; and many cousins, nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Bobby’s memory to Lynn Meadows Discovery Center, WINGS Performing Arts, 246 Dolan Avenue, Gulfport, MS 39507. Visitation will be held on Thursday, February 14, 2019 from 5-7pm with funeral service on Friday, February 15, 2019 at 11am all at the Howard Avenue Chapel of Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home in Biloxi with Pastor Carleton McCarter officiating. Friends may visit one hour before service time. Interment will follow at Biloxi National Cemetery with military honors.