Ladonna M (Steele) Gale

LaDonna M. Gale, 84, North Manchester, Indiana, passed away February 21, 2020 at Peabody Healthcare Center, North Manchester. The last of five siblings, LaDonna was born October 24, 1935 in North Manchester, Indiana to Alfred and Ruby (Rinehart) Steele.

After graduating from Central High School, North Manchester, in 1953, LaDonna married Lewis Gale on August 28, 1954. During their sixty-one years together, LaDonna worked for Blue Bell Jeans and Walgreens, both in Columbia City for a few years. She then worked at Manchester Tool & Die, North Manchester, for twenty-four years before retiring in 1996. On Sundays, Lewis and LaDonna attended Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, North Manchester, where they were members. When LaDonna wasn’t working or tending to the children, she enjoyed knitting, crocheting, and genealogy. Most of all, however, she loved being around family. Aside from her faith, family was the most important thing in LaDonna’s life.

The loving memory of LaDonna M. Gale will be forever cherished by her sons, Richard (Penni) Gale and Mark (Laura) Gale, both of North Manchester; three grandchildren; four great-grandchildren with two more on the way; and her lifelong best friend, Nancy Coble. LaDonna was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Lewis Gale; son, Charles Owen Gale; daughter, Julie Ann Gale; brother, Robert “Bud” Steele; sisters, Lorene Lee, Eleanor Blocher, and Lois Fitzgerald.

Family and friends may call Friday, February 28, 2020 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at McKee Mortuary, 1401 State Road 114 West, North Manchester, Indiana. Funeral services will begin at the conclusion of calling. Pastor Amy Beitelshees-Albers will officiate. Burial will be at Nolt Cemetery, Whitley County, Indiana.

For those who wish to honor the memory of LaDonna M. Gale, memorial contributions may be made to Juvenile Diabetes Association, 26 Broadway, 14th Floor, New York, New York 10004 or a love offering may be made to McKee Mortuary, 1401 State Road 114 West, North Manchester, Indiana 46962, to assist with final expenses.

Arrangements are entrusted to McKee Mortuary.