John Henry Steichen

October 1, 1920 – March 21, 2010

John Henry Steichen, 89, of Perry, Oklahoma, was the son of John Matthew and Maude Celestine Schiltz Steichen. He was born on October 1, 1920, in Perry, Oklahoma, and departed this life Sunday, March 21, 2010, in the same home from which he began his life on Sunny Slope Farm.

John attended the one-room Sunny Slope School from the first through eighth grade. He was a 1937 graduate of Perry High School. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy from Oklahoma A. and M. in 1941. John was a member of the Oklahoma State University Alumni Association and was named Master Agronomist in 1964.

On August 22, 1946, John married Ione Elizabeth Schroeder in Stillwater, Oklahoma. She preceded him in death on July 22, 2002. John was an active member of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. He served as a eucharistic minister and on the Catholic Foundation Board of Directors. He was a Fourth Degree Knight in the Knights of Columbus. He was a past president of the Perry Rotary Club and was honored as a Paul Harris Fellow. He also served on the Board of Regents for Northern Oklahoma College and Stillwater Savings and Loan Board of Directors. He was a member of Perry Farmers Coop Board for 18 years and was on the Oklahoma Grain Dealers Association Board of Directors serving as president in 1972. He helped establish the Morr Water District where he served as president. He was the general superintendent for the Noble County Free Fair for 3 years, and was a 4H and FFA Adult Leader. He also served on the Black Bear Precinct Election Board. John was a lifelong farmer-rancher on Sunny Slope Farm, which was named an Oklahoma Centennial Farm in 2009. He served our country as Captain for the United States Army Air Corps working as an aircraft maintenance officer, from 1942 to 1946 during World War II. His tour of duty took him to the South Pacific, New Guinea, Philippines, Ryukyu Islands, and Solomon Islands. John was an active member of the American Legion for over 60 years and was a farm training instructor for veterans from 1946 to 1950.

A rosary will be held at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 23, 2010, at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. A Mass of Christian burial will be 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, March 24, 2010, at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. Father Tom Dowdell will officiate. Interment will be at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Hospice of North Central Oklahoma or the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in care of Brown Dugger Funeral Home, 1010 N. 7th Street, Perry, Oklahoma 73077.

John is survived by two sons, James M. Steichen and his wife, Marie, of Manhattan, Kansas, and Dennis Steichen and his wife, Carol, who continue farming Sunny Slope Farm in Perry, Oklahoma; four daughters, Elizabeth Bailey of Edmond, Oklahoma, Marilyn Seagraves and her husband, Ed, of Lombard, Illinois, Evelyn Otto, of Ponca City, Oklahoma, and Carol Dvorak and her husband, Scott, of Perry, Oklahoma; nine grandsons, John Seagraves and his wife, Michelle, Jim Seagraves and his wife, Megan, and Tom Seagraves, all of Illinois; Brian Bailey and his wife, Erin, and Kevin Bailey and his wife, Allison, all of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Joe Dvorak and his wife, Tanya, of Manhattan, Kansas; Justin Dvorak of Perry, Oklahoma; Jeff Steichen and his wife, Marylynn, of Wichita, Kansas; and John Mitchell Steichen of Perry, Oklahoma; eight granddaughters, Christine Steichen of Escondido, California; Laurel Steichen and her husband, Jeff Lamb, of Seattle, Washington; Bethany Steichen of San Francisco, California; Gayle Otto, Stacia Otto and Sheralyn Williams and her husband, Andre, all of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Kelle Otto of Ponca City, Oklahoma; and Allison Dvorak of Tulsa, Oklahoma; six great-grandchildren; one brother, Bob Steichen and his wife, Margaret, of Tonkawa, Oklahoma; and two sisters-in-law, Ruth Steichen of Ponca City, Oklahoma, and Kay Lovell and her husband, Everett, of Glencoe, Oklahoma. He leaves behind a legacy of faith and love. His six children, 17 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren were deeply blessed by the example and the strong foundation provided by both John and their mother, Ione.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Ione Steichen, one son, Raymond Steichen, one grandson, Herman Otto, his parents, one brother, Joe Steichen, one sister, Mary Lou Klein, and one son-in-law, Sherman Otto.