Bonnie Gae Steele McGhee, a lifelong resident of Provincetown, died on Christmas Eve morning, Dec. 24, 2020, at Cape Cod Hospital following a lengthy battle with diabetes. She was 75 years old.
A devotee of Provincetown’s and her own family history, McGhee chronicled both, painstakingly and in longhand. She also had a large collection of old Provincetown postcards that she kept in scrapbooks. McGhee loved to relate her knowledge of the town to anyone who asked. Pursuing her interest in local history, she served on the Provincetown Board of Library Trustees for several years.
Another of her many projects was a family tree on which she traced her family’s ancestry several generations back to the island of Pico in the Azores. She then presented her four siblings with lovingly handwritten copies of the family tree as Christmas presents.
During her adult life, McGhee worked as a sales clerk in several local stores, most notably the former Emporium, at 220 Commercial St. She retired in 2015 from her final position as a member of the Provincetown Parking Dept., due to declining health.
She was a free spirit who followed her passions, said Mary-Jo Avellar, her sister-in-law. Colleagues and friends alike remember her as a sweet and cheerful person who never had an unkind thing to say about anyone.
A 1963 Provincetown High School graduate, McGhee was an honor student, a cheerleader, and a member of the yearbook staff. A tall and blue-eyed blonde, she was crowned Miss Portuguese American Civic League and Cape Cod High School Queen of the PTA Easter Ball in her senior year. After graduating, she attended Cape Cod Community College.
A devoted cat lover, McGhee often fed the feral cats in her neighborhood, many of whom she adopted and tamed. McGhee loved to paint and showed her work at the Truro Council on Aging.
The daughter of the late Alden D. “Pete” and Clotilda D. “Tillie” Medeiros Steele, McGhee was born at home on May 21, 1945 at the property now owned by Moe Van Dereck and his wife. Dr. Daniel Hiebert assisted in the delivery. McGhee discovered years later, when she needed her birth certificate for a passport, that Dr. Hiebert had incorrectly recorded her birth as May 20 instead of May 21.
In addition to her parents, McGhee was preceded in death by her sisters Rose Steele Stephan, Lana Steele Argir, and Michelle Steele Kender.
She is survived by her brother, Duane A. Steele; her best friend and faithful companion, Eddie Jason; her cat, Ziggy; and several nieces and nephews.
A funeral service will be held at a date to be announced.
