Body of Joshua Steele expected to arrive Saturday

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By Kurt Allemeier | Friday, June 22, 2007 12:13 AM CDT | () comments

The body of Capt. Joshua E. Steele, who was killed Sunday in Afghanistan, is expected to arrive in the Quad-Cities on Saturday, with a funeral planned for early next week.

Steele, 26, of North Henderson, Ill., was killed with two other soldiers by an improvised explosive device. The body is scheduled to arrive at Quad-City International Airport about

11 a.m. before proceeding through Alpha, New Windsor, to the family’s farm in North Henderson, then on through Alexis before arriving at a funeral home in Knoxville.

Visitation is planned for 4-8 p.m. Sunday at United North Fieldhouse, 101 N. Holloway, Alexis, and the funeral at 10 a.m. Monday at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Monmouth.

In a statement released through Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn’s office, Steele’s mother, Paula Steele, said her son decided as a teenager “he was willing to give his life for his country.”

The family described their fallen son as quick-witted, straightforward and honest.

“Because of his passion, hard work, creativity, intensity and perfectionism, he was able to accomplish anything he set his mind to do,” R. Philip Steele, the soldier’s father, said.

Steele enjoyed geological pursuits, as well as raising and showing swine, horseback riding, hunting and life on the farm, according to his family.

He is survived by his parents and three siblings, two of whom serve in the military. His brother, U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Stephen Steele, is assigned to Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., and his sister, U.S. Army Lt. Lucinda Piotrowski, assigned to Fort Sill, Okla. A second sister, Gina Steele, lives in San Francisco.

Procession for Capt. Joshua E. Steele

Capt. Joshua E. Steele’s body is expected to arrive in the Quad-Cities about 11 a.m. Saturday.

The body, accompanied by the Patriot Guard, will leave from Quad-City International Airport and go south on U.S. 150 to Alpha, where the procession will go to the Legion then pass the law office of his father, R. Philip Steele, then south on U.S. 150 to Illinois 17 to New Windsor.

The procession will go through New Windsor and get on the North Henderson Road for a final visit to the family’s farm.

The procession will take the North Henderson-Alexis Road toward Alexis and go past St. Theresa Catholic Church and United High School. From there, the procession will travel to the Hurd-Hendricks Funeral Home in Knoxville.

Kurt Allemeier can be contacted at

(563) 383-2360 or kallemeier@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.