IN MEMORIAM
EXPANDED EULOGIES
Beryl Steiner
Services for Beryl Ann Steiner, 86, who died Jan. 21 in Newton, will be 10 a.m. Friday at Holy Family Parish, St. Mark Evangelist Catholic Church in Marion.
Rosary will be at 9:30 a.m.
Beryl was born Aug. 6, 1935, in Blandford Forum, England, to Harold and Gwendolyn Wright. Waiting for her at home were Myra, Edna, and Raymond.
Eventually, her family moved to Shaftesbury, where she met and married American airman Eugene Steiner on April 20, 1955, at St. Edward, King and Martyr, Catholic Church.
They lived in Shaftesbury until the following February, arriving in Durham on Valentine’s Day 1956, leaving behind the English village and joining a bustling Steiner family farm in Durham.
Though they grew up thousands of miles apart, Beryl, who grew up during WWII post-war rationing, was well-suited with Gene, who was raised during the Great Depression.
When asked later in life, she said she always would remember the horrible smell of gas masks issued and nearly being evacuated to Australia.
As a child, Beryl discovered a lifelong love of swimming in the English Channel.
Both her father and grandfather were bakers, passed-down skills that she was famous for within the family. That flair for baking has made its way into her descendants, even as far down as her great-grandchildren.
Beryl also was a nursing cadet in the St. John Ambulance Brigade, dedicated to the teaching and practice of first aid and support of the national emergency response system in England.
In 1957, her son Roy was born; Perry, two years later; Paula, in 1965; and Rex, in 1966.
In October 1969, with four children younger than 12, she became a naturalized American citizen. However, she remained the proper English lady whom her mother had raised and observed teatime daily.
Throughout her life, Beryl received recognition for her needlework and gardening skills; was an avid knitter, including making a potholder and Afghan for every grandchild; and worked in Boots Pharmacy in Shaftsbury and the kitchen at Salem Hospital.
Later in life, Beryl enjoyed supporting the American Legion Women’s Auxiliary as well as finding treasures donated by others while working at the Et Cetera shop in Hillsboro.
Beryl was preceded in death by her parents, brother, sister Edna, and grandson Ryan.
In 2011, after 56 years of marriage, Gene died after a battle with cancer.
Beryl is survived by children Roy; Perry and wife Barb; Amanda and children Tucker and Everett; Eric; Victoria and children Annabelle and Stella; and Paula and Stephen Kieffer and children Alyssa, Mariah, Mikayla, Aiden, and Rex; nieces, nephews and cousins on both sides of the pond; and countless friends loved as if they too were family.
Burial in St. Mark’s Catholic Cemetery will follow services.
A memorial has been established with the Father Kapaun Legacy Fund.