C. Carlyle Steele

Curtis Carlyle Steele, beloved husband of Jennifer Smith Steele, passed away peacefully on Thursday, October 20, 2022, with his wife and daughter by his side.  He was born on November 18, 1945, in Lancaster County, South Carolina.  He graduated from Lancaster High School in 1964, and went on to earn a BA from the University of South Carolina in 1968.  He earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1974; he then moved to Greenville where he started a successful law practice.  He met his future wife, Jennifer, by chance through a mutual friend on St. Patrick’s Day of 1978 in Savannah, Georgia, and they married in 1979, going on to have two children, Mary Kennington and Andy.

Carlyle was a lifelong Methodist, first a member of Hopewell United Methodist Church in Lancaster, and then of Northside United Methodist Church in Greenville.  His faith was strong and unwavering; he prayed daily and rarely missed church on Sunday.  He truly believed in practicing his faith and in helping those less fortunate, but he did so quietly and without ever seeking any recognition.

Carlyle was also a lifelong ardent Democrat, and he volunteered and worked on countless local, state, and national campaigns throughout his life.  He developed this love of and interest in politics from a very early age, and he often described one of his earliest memories at a local stump meeting in 1948 when he was less than three years old.   He was a voracious reader; in a typical week he read at least three books. He was an encyclopedia of knowledge about US politics, and specifically South Carolina politics and history.  He had an amazing memory for names, dates, and details.  He got an immense amount of enjoyment from traveling around the country and working with great enthusiasm for candidates he believed in, volunteering for campaigns and at conventions, and attending various political events.

Carlyle’s legal career spanned 48 years.  He was a gifted and talented orator and courtroom advocate, and he always had a soft spot for the underdog, never more so than in the courtroom.  He truly believed in using his talent and skill to help those who needed his help the most, and those he thought to be the most helpless and vulnerable to the legal system.  He worked and fought tirelessly for his clients; he genuinely cared about them and always showed them a tremendous amount of kindness and compassion.  He was a staunch and formidable advocate for his clients in the courtroom, while always remaining a true Southern gentleman.  Colleagues and clients alike compared him to Atticus Finch on more than one occasion, and the comparison always made him smile.  He never failed to earn the respect of anyone he encountered.

Carlyle was a person who made friends easily, but more importantly, he put forth effort and went out of his way to maintain these friendships.  He had an immense amount of curiosity about other people.  He never hesitated to reach out with a phone call just to check in and have a chat or share a story with a friend, and he loved getting calls from his friends.

Although he never returned to live in his native Lancaster County, it never left his heart.  He always loved returning for visits, and even after his parents passed away he had countless cousins, relatives, and friends still there, so he continued to make frequent visits.  He would often let out an enthusiastic “yee-haw!” when he crossed the county line into Lancaster County, to the great delight of his children.  Even friends he made who had never been to Lancaster would ask him to take them there for a visit after hearing his stories.  His roots there go back for many generations; he had an enormous amount of his family tree saved in his mind, and he never stopped considering it his home.

He was predeceased in death by his parents, Curtis Carlyle Steele, Sr. and Connie Kennington Steele, as well as by his beloved son, Andrew Jonathan Steele (Andy), whom he lovingly nicknamed “The Crown Prince” from a very early age.  He is survived by Jennifer, his loving wife of nearly 43 years, his devoted daughter Mary Kennington Steele, his son-in-law Jay Walkowski, and his two grandsons, Jackson Steele Walkowski (3) and James Carlyle Walkowski (1), of whom he was exceedingly proud.  He was affectionately known to his grandsons as “Pete,” which was a nickname from his childhood.  One of Carlyle’s most notable characteristics was his humility.  He went out of his way never to brag or seek recognition for any of his extraordinary work or qualities.  He once said his obituary should read simply, “Methodist, Democrat, Lawyer.”  However, of all his life’s accomplishments or labels, he was without a doubt the most proud of his family, and was the most devoted and loving husband, father, and grandfather.

A memorial service for Carlyle will be held on Monday, October 24 at 1:30 p.m. at Northside United Methodist Church, with a visitation to follow.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Northside United Methodist Church, the American Cancer Society, or the Greenville County Democratic Party.  Additionally, the family would like to extend its thanks to Dr. Joe Stephenson for his compassionate care and friendship.

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