Obituaries

Bernice Steinkamp, age 87 of Arcadia, Iowa, died Friday, December 28, 2012, at the Carroll Health Center Nursing Home in Carroll.
Mass of the Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 A.M. Wednesday, January 2, 2012, at St. John’s Catholic Church in Arcadia. The Celebrant will be Father Gary Snyder. Con-celebrant will be Father Richard Remmes. Lectors will be Diana Hoogestraat and Russell Steinkamp. Gift Bearers and Honorary Pallbearers will be granddaughters, Sarah Wirtz, Heather Hedrick, Jennifer Miner, Kari Steinkamp, and Katie Haukap. Mass Servers will be Jason Berg and Colin Johnson. Music will be by organist Darlene Leiting and St. John’s Choir. Soloist will be Sandy Wells. Communion Ministers will be Russell and Mary Jo Steinkamp and Diana Hoogestraat. Casket Bearers will be Dan Wernimont, Chris Hoogestraat, Ryan Steinkamp, Randy Eich, Mark Evers, Terry Eich, Dustin Eisenbacher, and Tyler Eisenbacher. Burial will be at St. John’s Cemetery in Arcadia.
Friends may call at the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll after 3:30 P.M. Tuesday. A rosary will be prayed at 4 P.M. Tuesday by St. John’s Ladies Guild followed by a Christian wake service at 6 P.M. Tuesday by St. John’s Parish. Memorials may be left at the funeral home or church for St. John’s Parish or the Kuemper Catholic Schools Foundation. Online condolences may be left for Bernice’s family at www.sharpfuneral.com.
Bernice was born on September 7, 1925, at Breda, Iowa, the daughter of A.J. and Elizabeth (Schulte) Wolterman. She spent her younger years in the Breda community and graduated from St. Bernard High School. Bernice and Melvin Steinkamp were united in marriage on May 22, 1945, at St. Bernard Church in Breda. The couple farmed one mile east of Arcadia until 1998 when they retired and moved to their home in Arcadia. Bernice and Melvin worked side by side with their farming operation and in later years Bernice also served as an Avon Representative in the area. She was a member of St. John’s Parish, Parish Ladies Guild, and the Arcadia American Legion Auxiliary. Bernice was an accomplished artist and a gifted seamstress. Many of her oil paintings grace the homes of people in the Carroll community. Bernice dearly loved her family, especially her grandchildren and great grandchildren, and she enjoyed reading, cooking, playing cards and scrabble, bowling, and gardening. She was a deeply spiritual and compassionate person.
Bernice is survived by her husband of 67 years, Melvin Steinkamp of Arcadia; by her daughter, Diana (Tom) Hoogestraat of Glenwood; her son, Russell (Mary Jo) Steinkamp of Carroll; seven grandchildren, Christopher (Nancy) Hoogestraat of Warrensburg, Missouri, Sarah (Josh) Wirtz of Nevada, Heather (Shawn) Hedrick of Cambridge, Jennifer (John) Miner of Altoona, Kari Steinkamp of Coralville, Katie (Tom) Haukap of Carroll, and Ryan (fiancé, Dani Pille) Steinkamp of Carroll; six great grandchildren; two sisters, Darlene (Roger) Koster of Elkader and Millie McCoy of Fonda; and sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Rita Wolterman of Adams, Minn., Nelda Wolterman of Carroll, Lucy Wolterman of Jefferson, Arlene and Dennis Alspach of Carroll, Virginia Wernimont of Atlantic, Leota Eich of Ogden, Neva Whitaker of Orange, Calif., and Gladys Steinkamp of Arcadia.
She was preceded in death by her parents; seven brothers, Richard, Harold, Wilbur, Lester, Joe, Raphael, and Elmer Wolterman; and two sisters, Elsie Koster and Marita Nepple.