Corinne Aniece Perdue was born 7 August 1910 in Tuskegee, Alabama, the third child of Jailous Perdue, a carpenter, and his wife Corinne Martin Perdue. Corinne completed her B.S. in Home Economics at Tuskegee in 1931. She taught homecrafts at that school until 1936 as she pursued her graduate degree at Iowa State College (“Corinne Perdue Marries Doctor, ” 1936), along with her younger sister Naomi, completing summer graduate work there. Like many African American former ISC students, she attended a banquet sponsored by ISC alumni for Frederick D. Patterson’s inauguration as President of Tuskegee.
On 5 November 1936, in the Tuskegee Institute Chapel, Corinne married Dr. Frank Evelyne Steele, a family medicine doctor, who practiced in New York City. The account of their marriage credited Corrine’s popularity, saying, “The bride will always be remembered as one of Tuskegee’s most popular girls” (“Corinne Perdue Marries Doctor, 1936, p. 8). The couple moved to New York City immediately after their wedding. By 1950, the couple and their daughter Florence were living in Opelika, AL, where Frank became a prominent physician. The 1950 Census shows Corinne employed as a homemaker. At some point, she received her doctorate. Her husband passed away in 1977. Corrine Perdue Steele died 30 March 2001 in Nashville, TN, and is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Tuskegee, AL (Steele, Mrs. Corrine P., 2001).
