READ TODAY'S STORIES AND E-EDITION SUBSCRIBE |  CONTACT US |  SIGN IN
Sports Extra!



SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS

FOR THE RECORD
LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US
BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA


Print story only Print story with comments Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest
A Life Lived Well on Sunny Slope Farm
Published: 3/27/2010 10:18 AM
Last Modified: 3/27/2010 10:18 AM

John Steichen was born in a small house on Sunny Slope Farm in 1920. He died in the same house 89 years later.
In between, he was raised as one of four children, went to a country school a half-mile down a dirt road from the house, graduated from Perry High School and Oklahoma A&M College. He went away to war, came home and married his sweetheart Ione and raised six children, all of them following the same path through Perry High School and OSU.
My uncle John died this week in the same house where my mother was raised, part of a pioneering Oklahoma farm family that dates back more than 100 years to my great grandfather.
My cousin Dennis is the fourth generation farmer on the land, just down the dirt road from my brother Billy.
Soon there will be a fifth generation.
On Wednesday, 22 grandchildren of John M. Steichen gathered at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Perry, filled to overflowing, for the funeral of John H. Steichen, our uncle and father.
We took a picture of all the cousins, the fourth generation of Sunny Slope descendants. I looked around and saw a physican, college professor, CFOs of huge corporations, college administrators, a Broadway musician, airline pilot, Air Force navigator, pharmacists, social workers, teachers and even a sports writer. More importantly, they are all nice people.
I am now an Uncle John to seven. But, I am the lucky one. My Uncle John was the best.



Reader Comments 2 Total
ken7 (3 years ago)
Great story John......thanks for sharing
Frank Opinion (3 years ago)
John, this just confirms Merle's "Proud to be an Okie"....Muskogee, Perry or my hometown of Sapulpa. It's what makes this a great state...Family roots, we are OK!
2 comments displayed


To post comments on tulsaworld.com, you must be an active Tulsa World print or digital subscriber and signed into your account.


Klein's Korner

Tulsa World senior sports columnist John Klein is in his fourth decade of covering sports. He started his newspaper career at The Daily Ardmoreite in 1977 and moved to the Tulsa World in 1978. He served 10 years as sports editor for the Tulsa World before being named to his current position in 2005. He also spent five years as the Southwest Conference beat writer for the Houston Post. He has won many writing awards and is a former Oklahoma Sports Writer of the Year.

Follow John Klein on Twitter

Subscribe to this blog



Archive

 
John Klein's Blog Archive:

2/2013  1/2013  12/2012  11/2012  10/2012  9/2012  
8/2012  7/2012  6/2012  5/2012  4/2012  3/2012  
2/2012  1/2012  12/2011  11/2011  10/2011  9/2011  
8/2011  7/2011  6/2011  5/2011  4/2011  3/2011  
2/2011  1/2011  12/2010  11/2010  10/2010  9/2010  
8/2010  7/2010  6/2010  5/2010  4/2010  3/2010  
2/2010  1/2010  12/2009  11/2009  10/2009  9/2009  
8/2009  7/2009  6/2009  5/2009  4/2009  3/2009  
2/2009  1/2009  12/2008  11/2008  10/2008  9/2008  
8/2008  7/2008  6/2008  5/2008  4/2008  3/2008  
2/2008  1/2008  12/2007  11/2007  10/2007  9/2007  
8/2007  7/2007  6/2007  5/2007  4/2007  3/2007  
2/2007  1/2007  12/2006  11/2006  10/2006  9/2006  
8/2006  





Home | Contact Us | Search | Subscribe | Customer Service | About | Advertise
Copyright © 2013, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.