Guenter Steinke

Guenter Steinke, 83, of St. Joseph, MI, September 29th 2013 Guenter Steinke passed into the presence of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ surrounded by his loving family. Arrangements have been entrusted with Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral in St. Joseph, MI. Guenter is survived by his loving wife of 59 years, Renate and his twin brother Manfred (Ruth) Steinke of Detroit, MI. Also surviving are his six children, John (Mary) Steinke of Kalamazoo, MI, Ellen (Ted) Panagakos of St. Joseph, MI, Martin (Donna) Steinke of Kalamazoo, MI, Harry (Mary) Steinke of Normal, IL, Lisa Steinke of St. Joseph, MI, and Eric (Lauri) Steinke of Grand Rapids, MI; 14 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents-Friedrich and Elisabeth (Zielke) Steinke and a sister-Irene Hoeppner. Guenter was born April 26th 1930, in Gumbinnen East Prussa. He grew up in war torn Wehlau, East Prussia and later settled in West Germany and married the love of his life, Renate Breitkreuz, on August 26th 1954. Guenter and Renate immigrated to America in 1956 with their newborn twins and established themselves and their family along the western shores of Lake Michigan. Music has always been a major part of his life and he loved to play piano and organ. He faithfully served the Lord in music as a Church Organist for over 29 years at the First Baptist Church of Saint Joseph. He apprenticed as a mason in Germany and worked as an independent Masonary contractor in Michigan. He later worked at Alreco and retired from Lakeland Healthcare in the maintenance department. He was deeply loved and will be greatly missed. A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Weds., Oct. 2, 12 noon, at the First Baptist Church in St. Joseph, with Pastor Marlo Fritzke officiating. Burial will follow at North Shore Memory Gardens in Coloma, MI. Visitation will precede the service from 11:00am till 12:00pm at the church. Memorials may be made to Intervarsity Mission at WMU, c/o Josh Fritzke. Friends wishing to leave the family a message of condolence may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com