Gayla Jean Steen

Gayla Jean Steen, 69, of Waterloo, Iowa, died on Thursday, March 18, 2021, at MercyOne Waterloo of complications from a fall.

She was born on January 14, 1952, in Waterloo, the daughter of Galen and Mary (Reiter) Van Dorn and graduated from Waterloo West High School with the class of 1970.

Gayla married Timothy Steen in the summer of 2002 at the Little Brown Church in the Vale in Nashua, Iowa.

She held various jobs throughout the years but was primarily a homemaker.

She had been a member of Burton Avenue Baptist Church. Gayla loved being out in nature, often going camping and fishing. She also enjoyed playing darts, cross-stitching, crocheting and other crafts. She liked reading novels and devotionals. Dogs and wolves held a special place in her heart.

Gayla is survived by her husband, Tim; two daughters, Cristy Abbott of South Carolina and Shannon Abbott of Wichita, Kansas; a son, Aaron Abbott of Aurora, Colorado; seven grandchildren, Alexandrea Tyrrell, Ezekiel Abbott, Vera Abbott, Zoe Abbott, Takoda Bennett, Riley Abbott, and Ethan Abbott; three great grandchildren, Maya Fry, and Jayce and Lilly Halstead-Clark; and two brothers, Gary (Shirley) Van Dorn of Byron Center, Michigan and Scott (Peggy) Van Dorn of Parkersburg, Iowa.

She is preceded in death by her parents.