Posted: 01/20/06

SIDNEY — Mass of Christian burial for Leona Gierke Steinbeisser, 66, of Sidney, will be 10 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2006, at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church, Sidney. Christian wake services will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, at Fulkerson Memorial Chapel. Interment will be in the Sidney Cemetery, under the direction of Fulkerson Funeral Home of Sidney.

Leona was born on July 31, 1939, in San Francisco, to Henry and L. Eveline (Harrison) Gierke. She grew up in the Sidney area, was the second of four children and graduated from Sidney Senior High School in 1957. After graduating from high school, she worked for Richland Bank. In 1957 she attended the annual Fourth of July Street Dance and it was there that she locked eyes with a tall, handsome and redheaded man by the name of Don. Father Ned Shinnick united Don and Leona in marriage Aug. 29, 1959, at St. Philomena’s Church. Don and Leona made their home south of Sidney on the family farm. In June of 1960, James Eugene, the first of their five children was born. Donald James Jr. (1961), Craig Joseph (1964) and Janet Kae (1967) followed shortly thereafter. Then in 1975 Don and Leona traveled to Germany and nine months later the family’s souvenir, Trisha Marie, was born.

The most important thing to Leona was her family and her faith. She also enjoyed spoiling her grandchildren, running errands for Don and the boys and the rest of the Steinbeissers on the farm, talking on the phone with her girls on their way to work every morning, practical jokes, meticulously caring for her yard and garden, visiting with her daughters-in-law, cooking for a group, large or small, at the drop of a hat and traveling with Don and their many family members and friends throughout the country. She did a lot of volunteering at the Sidney Health Center gift shop, for the local hospice program, Parish Council, Grief Ministry and Catholic Daughters. Leona was always supportive of Don with his involvement with The Sugar Beet Growers Association and countless other endeavors.

Leona died Jan. 14, 2006, surrounded by her husband and children, just 21 hours after being diagnosed with acute leukemia at Winter Haven Hospital in Winter Haven, Fla. Leona and Don had just finished a 10-day cruise of the Panama Canal with lifelong friends, Vernon and Karen Klose.

Leona is survived by her husband of 46 years, Don; her sons: Jim (May Ann), Don Jr. (DelRae), Craig (Karen), all of Sidney; daughters: Janet (Jim) Krivec and Trisha (John) Zowada, both of Billings; six grandchildren: Tiffany, Jeniffer, Michael, Ryan, Lauren, and Jonathan, coming soon are Baby Zowada (Trisha and John in April 2006) and Baby Steinbeisser (Jim and May Ann in June 2006); two sisters, Violet Coon and Cindy (Dale) Mitchell, all of Sidney; sister-in-law Carla Gierke of Yorba Linda, Calif.; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Her parents, Henry and Eveline Gierke, her brother John Gierke and a nephew Keith Steinbeisser preceded her in death.