Obituary of Jerome Alfred Steiner

Jerome "Joe" Alfred Steiner, age 81, of Wisconsin Rapids, passed away Sunday, September 4, 2016, at his residence. A celebration of Jerome's life will be held from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 8, 2016 at Herman - Taylor Funeral Home in Wisconsin Rapids. Online condolences may be expressed at www.taylorfuneralhome.net. Jerome was born September 5, 1934 in Wisconsin Rapids to Edwin and Marie (Bankenbusch) Steiner. Jerome was an avid hunter and fisherman. His greatest joys and times was when he was hinting with his nephew Mark or hunting for pheasants in South Dakota with his wife and good friends Rich and Margaret Bailey. His other passion was fishing with his nephew Pat. Clearly intent in the art of musky fishing, but it took him 10 years to finally get his wife to catch a legal musky, which she did and landed a 44 incher on his favorite lake, Grassy in Phillips. There were many visits to Phillips and a lot more on the Wisconsin River. He was a patient fisherman and could sit for hours in the boat, didn't really matter if he caught a fish, until he started a running tally with his nephew, of course Pat kept score and at the end of the fishing season the total was counted. He took many hunting trips, he hunted in Canada and Alaska, and he wouldn't have changed any of them in the world. When he married Jody he found out he had a passion for traveling and took many trips on a whim. Where he visited The Jesse James farm and house in Kearney, Missouri, from there they visited the Alamo, and took in the Riverwalk, and ride. They visited a numerous amount of zoos, including the one in San Antonio. As long as Jody drove he would go visit any state for their attractions and drive through parks. They went to Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, traveled to Idaho and fished the Snake River, where he caught numerous trout. Then in 2001, he and his wife accompanied his sister Arlene and her husband Tom (O'Day) to Hawaii for their anniversary, where he got to go deep sea fishing, went in a submarine (he was claustrophobic) and visited The Polynesian Culture Center and attended two luaus while there. The most impressive sight for him was visiting the U.S.S. Arizona. He said if he knew he would have had such a good time, he would have gone sooner, but he told his wife, Jody, the highlight of the trip was walking on Waikiki beach with her in the sunset. He loved his hunting adventures with his nephew Mark Vidal, up at Three Lakes, and even if they didn't see a deer, the time they spent in the deer stand together were precious memories. And when he finally couldn't go anymore, he would call Mark every night for an update on the days hunting. The next part was written by his nephew, Pat O'Day. Joe would always insist on paying for the minnows. Pat thinks this was so Pat could not tell him he was using too many minnows. A good day for them was catching 60 or more fish in one day (mostly white bass, but also walleye, some bass and a lot of catfish) and you could hear his laugh on shore by Pat making the catfish talk. But it was extra special if he caught a musky. He would get so excited, one day he lost his balance and over the edge of the boat he went. Pat would yell at him and say Joe get your butt back in the boat right now. He did manage to get back in the boat without flipping the boat over. Pat was more scared than Joe was and Joe would usually laugh and say don't tell Jody but I lost another cell phone. Pat said Joe was a big boy and he was afraid that if he tried to help him, they would both end up in the water, and flipping the boat. If you want a good story, you could talk to Mark about hunting or with Pat about fishing with Joe. It was always an adventure. Jerome is survived by his wife, Jody; children: Eden (Sean) Brennan and Keith (Jody) Lehman; grandchildren: Patrick (Shannon) Brennan, Michael (Coral) Brennan, Harley Lehman, Roarke Steiner, and Chealsie Cote; great-granddaughters: Hadley Brennan and Capri Lehman; sisters: Arlene O'Day and Joan Williams; many nieces and nephews, especially his niece, Terry Hamilton and nephew, Patrick O'Day. He will be missed by his special companion, Peanut. He is preceded in death by his parents, sisters: Audrey Hauser and Joyce Vidal; nephew, Larry Williams; and niece, Julie O'Day.