Juanita Steele

Funeral services for Juanita Steele, age 92 of Cookeville, will be at 1 p.m. Monday October 24 at the Cookeville Chapel of Hooper Huddleston and Horner Funeral Home. Bro. Clayton Lee and Bro. Dow Allen will officiate. Interment will follow at Double Springs Cemetery.

Her family will receive friends Monday from 11 a.m. until service time.

Juanita passed away Saturday October 22, 2022 at Cookeville Regional Medical Center.

She was born June 12, 1930 in Putnam County, TN to the late Johnny Buck Allen and Osia Mae Stewart Allen.

Juanita was a member of Dodson Branch Freewill Baptist Church. She was retired from F & W Vending Company in Cookeville.

She lived a long, loving and meaningful life. She was a storyteller. She traveled across the states in her younger years. She had a love for her family and knowing her ancestors and where she came from. She was a social butterfly and did not know a stranger. Her favorite holiday was Christmas because she was surrounded by those she loved. She was a wife, mother, grandmother, friend and above all a lover for Jesus.

In her early years she enjoyed raising her family and traveling. She had a taste for fashion and was always stylish in picking her wardrobes. She soon became a pillar of a small community in Dodson Branch where she enjoyed time with her grandkids, hosting large family gatherings, decorating for Christmas inside and out, and participating in community events at the Dodson Branch community center. She was a woman of faith and enjoyed singing in church.

As the years slowly passed she became more settled in and focused on the word of God, being with her family, working crossword puzzles in her easy chair, being the first to nibble on holiday feasts because she just couldn’t wait (she made the best cornbread!), lounging around in her pajamas all day watching Hallmark movies and loving on her grand-dog, Bear.

92 years filled with memories, countless blessings, love and loss, joy and pain. She spent most of her time on this earth preparing for her eternal life; she ran the race, she broke the chains. I hope they love her in heaven as much as we loved her here on earth. She will be in our hearts forever and greatly missed.

She is survived by a daughter, Patricia Bryant of Cookeville; a son, Anthony (Sheila) Steele of Cookeville; a brother, Johnny Buck Allen of Michigan; eight grandchildren; 18 great grandchildren; four great-great grandchildren; her grand-dog, Bear; along with a host of nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, Samuel Burnell Steele; a daughter, Betty Jane Norris; two sisters; a brother; two son-in-laws; and 1 granddaughter.

Pallbearers will be Curtis Norris, Johnny Bryant, Johnathon Bryant, Kenneth Bryant, Ken Bryant, DJ Coulson and Bernie Friesel.

Hooper Huddleston and Horner Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. (931)526-6111 Share your condolences and memories at www.hhhfunerals.com.