James William Steele

Mr. James William Steele, 52 of Mt. Gilead, NC, died Thursday, April 24, 2014, at Northeast Medical Center, Concord, NC, after a long illness.  He was born on August 27, 1961 in Montgomery County, North Carolina, to Bill Watts and the late Johnsie Steele Martin.

Funeral service will be 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 30, 2014, at Mt. Zion A.M.E. Zion Church, Pee Dee Community, Mt. Gilead, NC, with  Reverend Deborah Jean Robinson, eulogist.  Burial will be in the church cemetery. Rev. Ronald L. Goss, pastor, will officiate.  Public viewing will be from 11a.m. until 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, 2014 at Harris Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Mt. Gilead, NC.

He was a 1979 graduate of West Montgomery County High School, and an employee of Jordan Lumber Company, Mt. Gilead, NC.  In addition to his mother, the late Johnsie Steele Martin, he was preceded in death by his grandmother, Mrs. Hazel Thomas Steele, March 20, 2014, aunts and uncles.

Those left to cherish loving and fond memories to his wife, Claudette Tyson Steele, of Troy, NC; daughters; Nomeka Tyson of Biscoe, NC and Cynthia Steele of Greensboro, NC; sons; William Tyson (Melinda) of Piedmont SC and James Steele, Jr. of High Point, NC;  father; Bill Watts of Bronx, NY; four sisters; Gladys Legrand of Conn., Rose, Cynthia and Jennifer; 15 grandchildren; and a host of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friends.