William Gerald Steinlage, 81, of Holton,  died Thursday, March 14, 2019 at Plaza West Regional Health Center in Topeka.
 
He was born October 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, California.
 
He married Joan Marie Dosch on September 16, 1967 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Topeka, KS.  She died June 11, 1998.
 
William was a member of St. Dominic Catholic Church in Holton for over 40 years and a member of the Grand Lodge of the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers, Lodge No. 378.
 
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.
 
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.
 
He is survived by his son, Dr. Eric Steinlage, Bentonville AR, 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, CA, Verna Strathman, Topeka and Joella (Larry) King, Hoyt, many friends and neighbors and his Oak Creek family.
 
Mass of Christian Burial will be 1:00 p.m. Saturday, March 23rd at St Dominic Catholic Church.  Burial with military honors will follow in Mt. Calvary Cemetery at Holton.  William will lie in state after 9:00 a.m. Thursday at the Chapel Oaks Funeral Home in Holton in Holton where a Rosary will be prayed at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, followed by visitation until 8:00.  Memorials are suggested to the National Ataxia Foundation and may be sent in care of the funeral home, PO Box 1034, Holton, KS  66436.  On-line condolences may be made at chapeloaksfuneralhome.com