Nathan "Bob" Steinbach

Nathan Robert “Bob” Steinbach died peacefully July 18, 2019. He was 98 years old. Visitation is from 3:00 to 5:00 PM, on Saturday, July 27, 2019 at the Wintz & Ray Funeral Home in Yankton with a prayer service at 5:00 PM, led by Reverend Kwen Sanderson. Burial will be at 1:00 PM (mountain time) on Monday, July 29 at the Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, South Dakota with military honors by the Rapid City VFW Post No. 1273 and US Navy Funeral Honors. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Mead Building Endowment Fund, 82 Mickelson Drive, Yankton, South Dakota 57078. Bob was the son of Lillian Marie (Schanche) and Nathan William Steinbach, who were the children of Dakota Territory pioneers. Born in Yankton on April 20, 1921, he attended Yankton schools and graduated in 1939. Bob, as he called himself, was a “river rat”. He grew up spending his childhood on the Missouri River. Later on he enjoyed fishing as well as deer and pheasant hunting around it. He also enjoyed fishing the Black Hills area as well as many hunts out of the bus and cabin in the Black Hills with the rest of the Yankton owners, being the last of the “Five Kings” to pass. Other hobbies included raising pigeons and Arabian Horses as well as gardening and canning. After high school, he attended the South Dakota School of Mines and graduated in 1943 with a degree in Metallurgical Engineering. He was chosen for Who’s Who in American College Students and upon graduation went to work for Buick Motor Company who, as a defense plant, was building tanks and other war materials at the time. Bob enlisted in the Navy in 1944 serving in the South Pacific on a repair ship. His ship was the one that repaired the USS Franklin after she was hit by Kamikaze planes. While attending college he met his future wife, Georgiana Marie Johnson of Rapid City. They married in Flint, Michigan on May 14, 1943 and were married until her death on January 4, 2012. In their early years they lived in Flint and after Bob entered the Navy they traveled cross country from New York following officers training to deployment from San Francisco. After the war they returned to Flint, but soon moved back to Yankton. Bob still maintained their Yankton home that was built in 1949. Once Georgiana and Bob returned to Yankton, they opened up their own business, Steinbach’s Produce on West Hwy 50. It operated from 1949 -1975, although he continued to sell seed corn until 1993. In 1971 Bob went back to his engineering field by going to work for the city of Yankton managing the city street department. He retired from the city in 1988. Three children were born to their marriage, Susan, Tom and Sally. After Bob’s retirement, Georgiana and Bob traveled to Oregon, New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana to visit Susan and Sally. They had one grandchild, Matthew. Bob was recently blessed with his first great-grandchild, Oliver. He was able to meet Oliver prior to his passing and even had a four generation picture taken with him. Dad, Grandpa, Great-Grandpa and Bob will be greatly missed by his family and many others in the Yankton community. Bob is survived by his children: Susan (Ted) Brown, Tom, Sally (Gary) Chalk, grandson, Matthew (Joslin) Chalk and great-grandson, Oliver Chalk. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Georgiana on January 4, 2012; sister, Dale and her husband Lloyd Walla.