William Steinlage 1937-2019
William Gerald Steinlage, 81, of Holton, died Thursday, March 14, 2019 at Plaza West Regional Health Center in Topeka.
He was born Oct. 13, 1937, at Corning, the son of William Anton and Josepha Emma Haverkamp Steinlage. He attended Kelly schools and graduated in 1955 from Kelly High School.
After high school, he helped on the family farm. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1956 and was discharged in 1958. While in the Marine Corps, he was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, and at Camp Pendleton in Bakersfield, Calif.
William worked at Santa Fe in Topeka as a machinist until he retired in 1999 after 38 years of service. Shortly after William and Joan were married, they moved to Holton and purchased a farm. William raised cattle on the farm and gardened. Some years, he had as many as three gardens.
William was a man’s man. He liked to hunt and fish and would take his dogs raccoon hunting, in the dark, on a Friday night. William would help strangers who got stuck in the ditch by his house, even sometimes after being awakened in the middle of the night following a snow storm.
After his retirement, he worked and helped his neighbor and friend Walt deliver tires to other Midwestern and Northern parts of the country for Walt’s tire business. In November 2017, he moved into Oak Creek Assisted Living in Topeka.
William was a member of St. Dominic Catholic Church in Holton for more than 40 years and a member of the Grand Lodge of the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers, Lodge No. 378.
He married Joan Marie Dosch on Sept. 16, 1967, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Topeka. She died June 11, 1998.
He was also preceded in death by an infant son, Craig Gerald Steinlage, on July 16, 1968; his parents; and brothers Elmer, John and Gerald.
He is survived by his son, Dr. Eric Steinlage, Bentonville, Ark.; grandson, Cole Steinlage; his daughter, Renee Ward, Holton; granddaughter Isabela Ward; brother, Marvin Steinlage, Seneca; sisters, Mary Ann Olberding, Seneca, Arlene Lowe Lisa, Fountain Valley, Calif., Verna Strathman, Topeka, and Joella (Larry) King, Hoyt; many friends and neighbors; and his Oak Creek family.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 23 at St Dominic Catholic Church. Burial with military honors will follow in Mt. Calvary Cemetery at Holton. William will lie in state after 9 a.m. Thursday at Chapel Oaks Funeral Home in Holton, where a Rosary will be prayed at 6 p.m. on Friday, followed by visitation until 8 p.m.
Memorials are suggested to the National Ataxia Foundation and may be sent in care of Chapel Oaks Funeral Home, P.O. Box 1034, Holton, KS 66436. Online condolences may be made at chapeloaksfuneralhome.com
(PAID OBITUARY)
