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Ronald Michael Steilen

December 29, 1926 - December 18, 2015

Ron Steilen passed away peacefully Friday, December 18, at Sunny View Care Center in Ankeny, with his loving wife, Gladys, at his side. The visitation will be held Monday, December 21, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart Church in Ankeny—with a rosary to be said at 4 p.m. A funeral mass will be held 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, December 22 (also at the church), with burial to follow in the Ankeny Memorial Gardens cemetery.
Ron was born December 29, 1926, in Farmer, South Dakota, the sixth of what would eventually be 10 children for Joe and Louisa (Kass) Steilen. Although he loved math and was an excellent student, Ron needed to quit school to work on the family farm with his father. Ron met the love of his life, Gladys Mae Aulner, at a watering hole in Farmer, where she sat in a booth with her parents, sipping a Coke, while he stared at her from the bar. The bubbly brunette beauty and the quiet, handsome farmer married in 1948 after Ron returned from serving in the Army in WWII. The young couple started their life together on a small farm, until Ron’s health pushed him to get his GED and choose a different career. The Steilens moved to Brookings, SD, where Ron earned his B.S. in Engineering (with honors) from South Dakota State University. He did this while working and helping Gladys raise their four kids: Jim, Bob, Deb, and Kathy. (Mike came along much later).
Ron and his family then moved to Ankeny, where he worked for 30 years as a mechanical engineer at the John Deere Des Moines Works. Ron earned multiple patents for structures, implements, assemblies, and other ag-related machinery to help farmers do their jobs better and more efficiently. After retiring in 1987, Ron began a second career fixing his kids’ cars and helping them remodel their homes. In his free time, he loved to fish for crappies; play Euchre, Cribbage, and other card games (he was every bit as skilled at cards as his father, Joe); solve the Des Moines Register’s daily Jumble puzzle; watch the news; learn about the Civil War; read Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey novels; enjoy his grandkids; and travel with Gladys to visit family.
Ron was proud to be one of the founding members of Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart Church in Ankeny, remaining a loyal parishioner for 50+ years. A devout Catholic, Ron never missed Mass—even after having a stroke in 2008, becoming wheelchair-bound, and eventually moving to Sunny View in June 2015. Ron received Communion the day before he died, easing his heart and paving his way to Heaven.
Ron is survived by his loving wife of 67 years, Gladys Steilen; five children: Jim (Carol) Steilen of Wayzata, MN; Bob (Christina) Steilen of San Diego; Debra Steilen of Des Moines; Kathy Steilen Santry of Ankeny; and Mike (Debie) Steilen, of St. Joseph, MO; 10 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; siblings Sister Lenore Steilen, OSF, and Sister Leona Steilen, OSF, Milwaukee; Marlys Schlimgen, Little Rock; Vernon Steilen, Alexandria, SD; Lenore Stainbrook, Rapid City, SD; brother-law Nick (Connie) Aulner, Spearfish, SD; and dozens of nieces and nephews.
Ron was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Joe; his sisters Elverda Skalos, Lorena Phillips, and Irma Ozanne; and his son-in-law, Richard Santry. Special thanks go to the caregivers at Sunny View and the staff of Suncrest Hospice—who eased Ron’s final days; and friends Ole Modtland and Steve Modtland, who helped Gladys take good care of her husband.