Gary Elmer Steinhoff

GARY ELMER STEINHOFF was born on August 27, 1960 to Elmer and Margaret (Kormendy) Steinhoff in Pipestone, Minnesota. He was raised on the family farm and attended school in Pipestone, graduating from Pipestone High School. He was a part of FFA and loved agriculture and showing swine and cows and was also a meat judge. He loved helping on the farm as a teenager as well. Gary continued his education at Vo-Tech in Canby, Minnesota for diesel mechanics and Ag business. He went on to work at John Deere in Canby for several years as a mechanic with his future father-in-law and during his time there he met Kathy Burczek. The two were united in marriage on February 14, 1980 in Granite Falls, Minnesota. They were blessed with three boys, Greg, Brian, and Daniel. From 1981-1983 the couple lived in Marshall until moving to a farm east of Pipestone near his dad. He enjoyed farming both livestock and crops with his dad. He also got his CDL and drove truck for a time. In 2004, Gary and Kathy moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota and in August of 2008, he began working for the DOT with his son, Brian for two years. He enjoyed snowplowing the most out of all the different tasks. In March of 2018 he also began driving bus part time. He passed away unexpectedly on Friday, October 25, 2019 while doing the job he loved at the age of 59 years, one month, and 28 days.

Gary was a tinkerer and loved doing anything mechanical, especially on 4 wheelers, snowmobiles and recreational vehicles. He enjoyed doing repairs and home improvements as well; if something needed fixing, he would fix it. He liked going to car or farm auctions and always left with a new treasure! Gary loved his job and enjoyed telling stories about what he came across while on the job. He was a man who made time to help others and was always reliable. He was the guy to call; no matter how busy he was he would make time for you! Gary was a talker, he always had an answer for you and it was usually right. He was a good guy to get advice from! Gary was a hard-working man and could always be found accomplishing some task. The one thing that could take him away from a task was his grandkids; all plans stopped when they came over! He loved going on walks with them and spending time with them!

Gary is lovingly remembered by his wife, Kathy of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; his three sons, Greg of Portland, Oregon, Brian (fiancé, Megan Evans) of Beaver Creek, Minnesota, and Daniel (Amy) of Pipestone; 6 grandchildren, Brandon, Nicole, Josie, Quinn, Tay and Emma; siblings, Janice (Gary) Schulte and Mike (Jamie) Subota; and many other friends and relatives. He was preceded in death by his parents.