Edith Petersen Steele, 96, of Soda Springs passed away peacefully on Oct. 28, 2014, at the Caribou Memorial Living Center, where she had been a resident for a few short weeks. Edith was born March 26, 1918, in South Jordan, Utah, to Margaret Olsen and James Ruben Petersen, the fifth of eight children.

Her mother was a native of Denmark and met her father, who was an LDS missionary to Denmark. Danish women were forbidden to visit LDS missionaries and her mother had to sneak out at night to attend their meetings. Coffee was also looked down upon by the church and J.R. would often come to the back door for a cup. Her father was a dairy farmer and potato grower, as well as a bank director, served in the Utah Legislature, and was mayor of South Jordan. Both Edith and her mother always quietly knew, even if their English husbands did not, that the Danes were the superior race.

Edith was raised in South Jordan, graduating from high school with honors and a perfect attendance. She attended Brigham Young University from 1935 to 1937, where she met her husband, Stanford H. Steele, and they were married at the end of her second year and upon his graduation, on July 23, 1937 in Provo, Utah. They lived in Idaho for several years on the family ranch; built and operated a hardware and implement store in Orem, Utah; moved to Boise in 1952 where Stan worked for the Dept. of Reclamation, was executive director for the independent petroleum retailers association, and later operated an insurance company. Edith and Stanford had three children, Boyd, Dorothy, and Mark.

Edith returned to school at Boise Junior College to complete requirements for her elementary teaching certificate. The couple returned to ranching in 1960 when they moved to Soda Springs and she began teaching in the fall of 1960 for the Soda Springs School District, where she spent the next 20 years teaching elementary grades, was the district's remedial reading specialist, was appointed district reading supervisor, and spent the last six years teaching high school English and reading.

She had a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education and a professional certification in remedial reading. Edith did graduate work at Utah State University in the fields of reading. Teaching and reading were her vocation, hobbies, and loves of her life. She thought positively of her students, especially of those who had been given misguided labels by others. In 1967 her remedial reading program was selected by Title I as an exemplary reading program and was filmed for presentation. Edith was selected for various reading honors and leadership positions in the West, as well as a Teacher of the Year finalist. She was also a consultant for a major text book company, held many workshops, and developed teaching materials. She was a member of the International Reading Association, Delta Kappa Gamma, and served on state and national education associations.

Her life-long hobby was reading and she credited her father for his large and varied library, and his belief that teaching was life's most inspirational vocation. Other hobbies of Edith's included needlepoint, knitting, weaving on a loom, and sewing.

Edith outlived all her immediate family. She is survived by her sons, Boyd of Eugene, Oregon, and Mark and Wendy of Soda Springs; son-in-law David Izatt; seven grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband Stanford; daughter Dorothy Steele Izatt; brothers Woodrow, Joe, and Jay; sisters Evelynn, Vivian, Elsie, and Phyllis; and a great-great-granddaughter, Kassandra Marie Greene.

She is loved and will be greatly missed.

And when the Guardians of The Gate greet her, they better damn well have their conjugated verbs in order--or they, too, will be staying after school.

The family suggests donations to the Soda Springs Education Foundation for reading materials or any public
library.

They wish to thank Dr. Nita Weber and the exceptional staff at Caribou Memorial Living Center for their kindness
and compassionate care during her stay with them. They have a special calling.

Services will be held on Saturday, November 1, 2014 at Noon at the Sims Funeral Home. The family will visit with friends on Saturday morning from 10-11:30 a.m. at the Funeral Home prior to services.