Emma Lou Steineman

I am heart-broken to report that my mother, Emma Lou "Emmie" Steineman has crossed over to be with The Heavenly Father on March 26, 2016 at 11:05pm ET. She went as swiftly and peacefully as possible given her disease, and was in pleasant surroundings in the care of the Wayne T. Patrick Hospice House of Rock Hill, SC. She lived 74 years, 7 months, 18 days.

Emmie was born August 9, 1941 in Harrisville, OH to George A. and Elizabeth V. Johnson. In her early years, the family lived in Cadiz, OH and then settled in Kilgore, OH. She attended Carrollton High School and had an ambitious and adventurous spirit that the Germans call "wanderlust". She soon left for college and attended the University of Southern California at Los Angeles where she studied a variety of languages including Spanish and German. She continued her education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa where she also studied Japanese, then on to Miami University in Oxford, OH where she received her Bachelor's degree. She was selected for a Fulbright Grant to study in Germany where she would meet her future husband, James J. Steineman who received the same Fulbright Grant.

After they spent a summer in Germany with the group of grant recipients and German hosting families, they began a written correspondence that culminated in a marriage proposal by mail on January 1, 1968. Without ever having formally dated, they were engaged and married on June 15, 1968 in Dover, OH. Jim was in Seattle at the University of Washington finishing his Master's degree and Emmie was already teaching at New Philadelphia High School in New Philadelphia, OH just prior to getting married. The weekend after getting married, they moved to Dayton, OH where they both had teaching jobs at Wright State University. They lived in a one-bedroom apartment while teaching and when Jim started working at Standard Register, they moved to a house in the Belmont neighborhood of Dayton. Their only son Eric was born in the Spring of 1969.

In the 1970s and early 80s, Emmie worked in the Geology Department of the University of Dayton and later moved into the Languages Department where she supported the teachers and administrators.

In 1981, the family moved to Omaha, NE to support Jim's job change to Data Documents, Inc. Emmie volunteered at the local Children's Hospital taking care of the dying infants. The family remained in Omaha for 3 years before moving to San Francisco, CA in 1984. They were enchanted with the city's culture, diversity, and freedom of expression. Jim explored hospital administration as well as Human Resources for a well-respected law firm while Emmie explored outplacement services for those experiencing job changes, mining company administration, and then into Banking and Lending. Emmie's mother Elizabeth was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia in early 1986 and moved in with the family. Eric left for college in 1987. In 1988, Jim was diagnosed with a form of leukemia that required a bone marrow transplant in the hopes of a cure. Eric returned home from college at the time of diagnosis and started his career in banking. Jim began the transplant journey in June of 1989 but unfortunately, he perished on January 26, 1990 leaving Emmie at the helm of the family.

By December of 1990, Emmie made the decision to move she and her mother to Costa Mesa, CA to be closer to Eric who was in Brea, CA. Emmie continued her career in banking for a few years before branching out to her true calling, which was spearheading the volunteer program at the Visiting Nurses Association of Orange County - a Hospice program. She recruited, selected, trained, managed, and enriched the lives of hundreds of volunteers in her years there. Unfortunately, her mother Elizabeth perished on September 9, 1993 of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia while in Hospice care.

Following the wanderlust spirit, she moved to San Marcos, CA in 1997 and worked in a real estate office for a brief period before moving back into Hospice in San Diego County -- from where she would ultimately retire.
Emmie spent 11 years in San Marcos before moving to Sun City, CA into a beautiful retirement tract. In the summer of 2010, she was diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma - a rare sub-type of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. She opted out of chemotherapy and radiation treatments as they are not very effective with this form of the disease. To receive maximum family support, she joined Eric and his wife Francine in Fort Mill, SC - a suburb of Charlotte, NC in May 2011. She led an independent and full life for nearly 5 years before requiring more oversight. Emmie experienced a respiratory crisis in December 2015 and required Emergency Room care and was subsequently released with a treatment plan. At that point, Emmie joined Eric, Francine and Jess (Francine's father) in their home to enjoy her remaining days. The 90 days following her move into their home involved two additional hospital stays for respiratory infections before the advanced state of her lymphoma was recognized. The remaining week of her life was spent in the care of Hospice in the hospital followed by a brief stay at the Wayne T. Patrick Hospice House in Rock Hill, SC. She received tender, sensitive care that left her in as much comfort as possible for her last days on this Earth.

Emmie was a beacon of light and love to all who knew her. She was an astute and caring listener who tended to those in need and helped them through crisis points in their lives. She tended to many friends and relatives who passed before her - each with the hallmark of tenderness, dignity, and a sense that what lies beyond is the true mission of our spirits. She will be remembered for her smile, her unending bounty of energy and positive spirit, and her commitment to loving her fellow human beings. I could not have asked for a more loving, caring, attentive and supportive mother.

At Emmie's specific direction, she requested that there be no public services or newspaper obituaries. She requested that she be remembered through her last interactions with those whose lives she had touched. She has directed to be cremated and her son Eric will retain the cremains alongside her husband Jim's.

In lieu of flowers, we would request that you consider a donation in her name to a Hospice program of your choice. In Emmie's selflessness, she would want others to benefit from the program that meant so much to her in life as it did to her in her final days.

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