LeOma Steindam's Obituary
LeOma is preceded in death by her husband of 51 year, Albert L. Steindam and survived by daughter, Jane Skinner and husband Charles; grandsons, Craig Skinner and Captain Russell Matthews; brother, Harold Russell and wife Becky; and sister-in-law, Louise Newman and husband Reverend James Newman. LeOma Russell was born in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma on June 25, 1924 and being a good Oklahoman, moved to Texas as soon as she could. Her family settled in Van, Texas where she graduated from high school in 1942. As a teenager, she became a Christian during a summer revival with Rev. Happy Holmes in 1939. After graduation she moved to Dallas where she started working at the A. Harris Department store doing gift wrapping at a salary of a whopping $14.00 per week. She also held other jobs during the war years until she married in 1945. LeOma met Albert Steindam in 1941 before he left for the Army Air Corp but they did not correspond during the war. They reconnected after he returned and were married August 27, 1945. The built a “bitty” (as in “little bitty”) house in Austin while Albert attended “The University.” One year later, on their first anniversary they were blessed with a son. LeOma was a strong woman. On the day she went into labor with Russell, she was holding up the roof beam of the house that she and Albert were building in Austin. He kept saying “Hold on just a little longer” and she was saying “No, it’s time to go now!” But she didn’t put the beam down until Albert was done. In 1949 LeOma and Albert moved to Dallas and in 1950, they got a new car and a new daughter all in the same week. In 1956, they decided to build again. They completed the house in 1957 just in time for the 7 year drought to break. There was no bridge across the creek leading up to the new house. And the rains came and the creek flooded, but LeOma and Albert stood firm and dealt with it. In 1965, LeOma took over the nursing care of her mother-in-law who became partially paralyzed before her death 1966. In August 1968, LeOma celebrated the marriage of her son and in February 1970, she mourned the loss of that son in Vietnam. However, in the same month that she lost her son, she gained her first grandson. Later that same year, in August, she was able to celebrate the marriage of her daughter Jane. LeOma collected family and friends. When her daughter-in-law remarried in August 1974, she brought him into the family also. LeOma was never an interfering mother-in-law. She was an ally, a supporter, a friend. She was very interested and knowledgeable about the Bible and religion. She was also interested in politics and was more than happy to discuss either. She had her beliefs about child rearing but did not impose them on her daughter (or son-in-law). Albert retired just about the same time as her daughter Jane and I started to build a new house north of Celina. LeOma and Albert pitched in and did a huge amount of the work. They were always there for us. Oh, by the way, the house was finished in August. If you haven’t noticed by now, August was the month that a lot of things happened. She was married, bore a son, saw her son married, saw her daughter married, helped finished a house, saw her grandson Russ pinned as a 1st Lieutenant, lost Albert, and went to meet Jesus in heaven – all in August. Just after 5:00 pm, Monday, August 17, 2009, LeOma Russell Steindam died peacefully in her sleep. For the last three months of her life, she was not herself. After the surgery to fix her broken leg, she just didn’t come back mentally. She knew everyone but there was a lot of confusion about reality and perceived reality. She experienced anxiety, confusion, fear, stress, frustration, anger; in other words, all the negative aspects you can think of. Nevertheless, for the last 24 hours she was peaceful. We know that, as a Christian, LeOma is now in heaven, healed and whole, attending one of the greatest reunions ever. We will miss her greatly. She was more than Jane’s mother and my mother-in-law, she was my friend. ~ Charles Skinner
What’s your fondest memory of LeOma?
What’s a lesson you learned from LeOma?
Share a story where LeOma's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with LeOma you’ll never forget.
How did LeOma make you smile?