John Lynn Steincamp

JOHN LYNN STEINCAMP

Nov. 14, 1933 - Dec. 4, 2011

John Lynn Steincamp passed on December 4th, 2011, after having recently celebrated his 78th birthday. Services will be held on Friday, December 9th at Frye Chapel in Brawley from 6 to 9 p.m. with visitation from 6 to 7 p.m. and services at 7:15. Additional visitation will be held after services.
John was born on November 14, 1933 in Ripley Oklahoma to John and Helene Steincamp.The family moved to Bristow Oklahoma, where John attended school and excelled in sports and academics. After graduation from Bristow High School, John attended Oklahoma State University where he received his BA in Economics and Liberal Studies. He received his teaching credential and started his teaching career in Slick, Oklahoma as a high school teacher. On July 14th 1962, he married Joan Marie Tiernan and the couple moved to the Kakoo Singh Ranch east of Calipatria as John had been hired to teach at Calipatria High School as well as coach Calipatria's high school football and basketball program.
While teaching at Calipatria John often returned to Oklahoma to attend summer sessions at Phillips University in Enid, where after several summers he received his MA in teaching. John was also a member of the United States Army and The Army National Guard where he reached the rank of Captain and was Commander at the National Guard Armory in Brawley, California and was in charge of the Hell On Wheels Armored Vehicle and Tank Squadron based in the Imperial Valley. In 1969, John was in a automobile accident that broke his neck and back and after two years of recovery he started teaching at Desert Valley High in the Brawley Unified School District where he taught until his retirement in 1992. John had many friends, but his number one partner was Clyde Lanning of Calipatria. Clyde soon introduced John to the Chocolate Mountains and vast Imperial Valley Desert, of which the two would explore on the weekends in Clyde's Jeep. After the birth of his two sons, Kurt and Victor, Clyde and he exposed them to the joys of the desert and hunting, as John was on the Army Rifle Team. He taught his boys the fun of hunting and the responsibility of gun ownership, being as he was a member of the NRA for over 20 years. John was also a member of the Lions Club Calipatria Chapter, where he served as a delegate to the Lions Club California Conventions.
John was preceded in death by his father, John Block Steincamp; his mother, Helene Steincamp; his brother, Max Lee Steincamp and his best friend, Clyde Lanning.
He is survived by his loving wife of fifty years, Joan Steincamp; his sons and their wives, Kurt and Armida Steincamp of Imperial, CA, and Victor and Tawanna Steincamp of rural Brawley; grandchildren, John Benjamin (J.B.) Steincamp also of Imperial, Shona Marie Diamond and husband Jason of Hinesville GA, Jessica Steincamp of Calipatria; sister Mary Ann Kebert of Erie, Kansas; brother-in-law, Ronnie and Sue Tiernan of Tulsa OK, great-grandchildren Joscelyn Diamond and Seth Diamond, as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins in the Oklahoma, Kansas, and Mississippi areas. He also leaves behind his dear pets, "Blue", "Roscoe" and "Bouncer".
John will be dearly missed by his family and friends for his wit and offbeat sense of humor.