July 10, 1934 ~ January 14, 2021
Stanley James Van Steenvoort, of Wichita, Kansas, passed away Thursday, January 14. He was 86 years old.
Stanley was born July 10, 1934, in Crary, North Dakota, the son of Frank and Ethel Van Steenvoort. He attended school in Crary, North Dakota, through high school and then continued his education with a bachelor's and a master's degree.
He married Bernice Ruth Folkers on August 16, 1956. They had three children, Carrie, Lynn, and Alan. When first married they lived in Mayville, North Dakota, followed by Karlstad, Minnesota; Carrington, North Dakota; Circle, Montana; Weatherford, Oklahoma; and Alva, Oklahoma.
He started his career as a high school teacher and then transitioned to college. He taught mathematics in Oklahoma for 33 years. That included one year at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. He started as a professor at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, Oklahoma, in 1967 and taught the remaining years there with a break to teach higher level math courses at Alva High School for two years. He retired from Northwestern Oklahoma State University in 1991.
Stan and Bernice moved from Alva in 2014 and went first to Goddard, Kansas, and then to Wichita, Kansas, in 2017.
Stan's passions included hunting and fishing. He was a long-time member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Alva, Oklahoma, and was a member of the Lion's Club there as well.
He is survived by his daughter, Carrie Kramer (husband Robert Kramer and granddaughter Katherine Kramer); his daughter, Lynn Van Steenvoort; his son, Alan Van Steenvoort (wife Christine and step-grandsons Luke and Jake Munyon); his brother George Van Steenvoort of Bismarck, North Dakota, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Stan was preceded in death by his father and mother, Frank and Ethel Van Steenvoort; his brothers Jack, Thomas, Eugene, and Daniel and his sisters, Frances and Ellen.
Memorial services will be Januuary 20, 2021 at 10 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Colwich, Kansas. The family requests no flowers, please. Memorials or donations may be made to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.
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