Cardie Emmet Steele, Jr.

Cardie was born on August 7, 1929 to Cardie Steele Sr. and Ruth Jones in Cleveland Ohio. He grew up on 10515 Frank Avenue. During the 30's and 40's Cardie remembered Frank Avenue being a very busy street with African Americans living alongside Italian American families. He was friends with a few of his Italian American neighbors and recalled being invited to their homes for dinner. He was a busy teenager going to various parties and dances with his friends from around the neighborhood. He went to East Technical High School and became interested in horticulture. Also during that time he liked to play baseball and basketball. He graduated in 1948. He developed life-long friendships there and was invited to his high school reunions for several decades. Upon his graduation from high school, he looked for jobs such as bank teller or office clerk. Unfortunately, since Cardie was black, he was never selected due to rampant racial discrimination. Wondering what to do next since he couldn't find work, he decided to enlist in the army as an opportunity to study medicine and eventually become a doctor. He enlisted in the U.S. Army for the Third Infantry Division on April 21, 1950. He spent eight weeks studying to be a medical technician and another eight weeks learning how to repair engineering equipment. He maintained tight communications with his mother, father, and sister Hazel throughout his army years, always asking for them to send him the Call and Post newspaper whenever they could. Eventually the army discovered that Cardie knew how to work the slide rule and asked him to transition to calculating targets for artillery. Cardie enlisted in the army only because he couldn't find suitable work in civilian life. He was adamantly against killing of any kind, no matter the circumstances. Unfortunately, when the Korean War conflict escalated, he was forced to leave the Army medical school to go into combat. While in the army, he was awarded the Korean Campaign Ribbon with three bronze battle stars, along with a Unit Citation, and Korean and U.N. Service Medals. Cardie was honorably discharged from the 645th Engineer C Battalion on April 20, 1953. Meanwhile, Cardie fell in love with Anne Lee Adams, and they were eventually married on October 3, 1953. A couple years later they became the proud parents of Pamela and in 1959 they welcomed another daughter Karen. Cardie and Anne were active in their neighborhood community as well as the church. Cardie felt he was lucky enough to get solid uninterrupted employment with the U.S. Postal Service and was able to support his family with his union wages and health benefits. Those health benefits became a godsend since Anne discovered during her pregnancy with Pamela that she had sickle cell anemia. At that time the disease was considered fatal as there were no cures or medicines effective enough to stop it or at least decrease the pain it caused. Cardie remained selflessly devoted and dedicated to helping Anne negotiate the illness as much as he was able to, and his steady employment earnings and benefits were crucial to his family's survival. Cardie and Anne were married for almost 22 years before sickle cell disease overcame Anne and she passed away on March 29, 1975. During his 43 years as a widower, Cardie enjoyed his daughters and visits with his grandchildren Christina, John, Jordan, Annie, Talor, and Dean. He maintained a very loving relationship with his nephew John Bradford and his niece Carol Steele (deceased). He enjoyed going to various jazz concerts around Cleveland and amassed a significant collection of jazz albums that he listened to on a daily basis. He also spent his time doing crossword puzzles and sitting out on his deck in warm weather. Cardie taught his daughters about honesty, integrity, and equality. He was a role model for how to survive in tough times and lead a simple and happy life. He also believed in helping others less fortunate, and to that end, he contributed to his favorite charities throughout his life. Cardie was called home on May 17, 2018 after being hospitalized due to failing health. He stayed true to his values until the very end.