Pastor Mark Steinke was welcomed into the Church Triumphant on September 15, 2021, at the age of 62.
He was born on May 13, 1959 in Midland, Michigan to Walter and Vernadine Steinke. He became a beloved child of God through baptism and then confessed his lifelong faith in confirmation at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Midland.
Mark is a graduate of Midland High School in Midland, Concordia University Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Concordia Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was ordained as a pastor in the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church (LCMS) in June 1985. In 1982, Mark was married to his beloved wife Laurie.
Pastor Steinke served the Lord at numerous parishes in Michigan, Ohio, and Florida, and in 2019 accepted the call to be Pastor at Tree of Life Lutheran Church in Inverness, FL. Mark also taught science and math in several middle and high schools, sharing the light of the Gospel in everything he did.
Mark will be remembered by many for his gentle and caring heart, his kind smile, and his love for jokes and making people laugh. Mark loved the challenge of building or fixing everything he could. He loved visiting Disney World with Laurie, his children, and his grandchildren.
Above all, Mark will be remembered mostly for his life’s mission to share the hope of eternal salvation through his Savior, Jesus Christ. He demonstrated in everything that he was a saved child of God and used every opportunity to witness to everyone he came across about God’s love for them.
Mark’s love, influence and memories live on in his wife Laurie; their daughter Sarah (Derek) Augustynowicz of Highland, Indiana; their son Tim Steinke of Boston, Massachusetts; and their grandchildren Catherine and Daniel Augustynowicz. He is also survived by his brother David (Connie) Steinke, his sister Debbie (Joe) Jubinski, and seven nieces and nephews and their spouses.
Mark is rejoicing in Heaven with his Savior and with his parents Walter and Vernadine Steinke, and his father- and mother-in-law Bernhard and Ida Callies.
Funeral services of comfort for God’s people and gratitude for Pastor Steinke’s life will be on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at Charles E Davis Funeral Home in Inverness, Florida. There will be a public viewing at 10:00 a.m. followed by a funeral service at 11:00 a.m. There will then be a processional to Tree of Life Lutheran Church in Inverness, FL, with a funeral service at 2:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorials in Pastor Steinke’s name can be given to Tree of Life Lutheran Church in Inverness, Florida.
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