Eberhard B. Steinlage, 88, formerly of Kelly, KS, died Saturday, July 29, 2000, in a Sacramento, CA hospital following a lengthy illness.

He was born on a farm southeast of Kelly, on March 7, 1912, the son of Joseph and Agnes Niehues Steinlage. He grew up in the Kelly area, attended St. Bede’s School there, and helped on the family farm. He graduated from Maur Hill High School in Atchison. He taught in a country school near his home for a short period of time before moving to California. He was employed by Purity Grocery Chain and became a store manager. At Yuba, CA, he began work for the Yuba Consolidated Gold Fields as an electrician on the company’s huge gold dredgers.

During World War II, he served in both the U.S. Army and the Army Air Corps.

In 1943 he was married to Irene Burns. They had three children, and were later divorced.

After the war, he returned to Consolidated at Yuba and then took a job with Woodleaf Box & Lumber Co. as head electrician. He joined Convair Astronautics (later mergered into General Dynamics) in San Diego and worked on some of our nation’s first missiles. Later he worked in Fresno for American Beauty Pasta Company, where he supervised the re-tooling of the machinery, bringing it up to state of the art and increasing production.

Following his retirement, he lived in Coon Rapids, MN, with his son and daughter-in-law, Ben and Sandi Steinlage, for nine years. He moved to Country View Estates care home in Seneca, KS in August of 1999 and to Sacramento in April of 2000.

He was a former member of St. Bede’s Church in Kelly and a member of the Knights of Columbus.

Survivors are a son, Bernard “Ben” Steinlage of Coon Rapids, MN; two daughters, Christine Forte of Orangeville, CA and Carol Bly of Folsom, CA; three brothers, Frank, Aloysius, and Benedict “Ben” Steinlage, all of Corning, KS; a sister, Mary Steinlage of Kelly, KS; seven grandchildren; two step-grandchildren and five step-great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by two brothers, Henry and Lambert Steinlage.

Mass of Christian burial will be 10:30 AM Saturday, August 5, at St. Bede’s Church in Kelly. Burial will be in the church cemetery. A prayer service will be held at 7 PM Friday at Lauer Funeral Home in Seneca.

Memorials may be given for St. Bede’s Cemetery.