Joseph Charles Steiner, P.Eng

The Steiner family is saddened to announce the peaceful passing of their father Joseph Charles Steiner, on December 22, 2023, at the age of 94. He was surrounded, in body and spirit, by family and loved ones as he made his final journey.

Joe was born in St. Catharines, Ontario on May 8th, 1929, to Swiss immigrants Joseph Steiner and Marie Schmuki. He is predeceased by his loving parents, his best friend and brother Lou, and sister Rita. He is survived by his sister Patricia. Joe was also predeceased by his much-loved wife of 45 years, Therese (nee Murphy) who died in 1999 after a long illness. Joe spent those last years with Therese as her constant companion and caregiver.

As the patriarch of a family dynasty, Joe is survived by his 6 children, Joseph (Linda), Mary (Michel), Ann (Mike), Paul (Marie), Elizabeth (Evan) and Peter (Alexandra). Proud grandfather to Shawn, Ashley, Elizabeth, Melanie, Julia, Patrick, Joseph, Matthew, Paul Louis, Nicholas, Martine, Samuel, Jaimie and Madalynn. Great grandfather to Patrick, Porter, Charlotte, Jacob, River and Cameron. Joe will be dearly missed by Nancy Malone, wife and companion for the last 21 years, and the Malone family.

Joe grew up in Toronto, attending high school at St. Mikes College School and spent three years at St Augustine’s seminary, living a life of faith. He decided it wasn’t his calling and left the seminary in 1952. In 1953 he met his future bride (Julia) Therese Murphy, and they were married in 1954. Joe was a devoted husband and father, and with Therese, they raised a young family in north Toronto close to the churches and schools that would form the cornerstone of their lives as a family.

To support their growing family, Joe worked most of his career at R J Black and Associates, an engineering consulting firm. He started originally as an electrician and progressed to an electrical engineering design consultant. He was very talented and appreciated in the industry, and an integral part of the growth of the company in the 43 years he was involved.

While raising his family with Therese, Joe studied tirelessly and persistently over an eighteen-year period to obtain his electrical engineering degree from the University of Leeds. In 1969 he finally achieved the professional engineering accreditation of which he was he was so proud. And his inspiration as an engineer has found roots in his family with a daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren following in his footsteps. His lifelong pursuit of learning is one of his biggest family legacies as he and Therese promoted the value of education and hard work to their children and grandchildren.

Not only was Joe involved with business and family, but he was also a man of faith who found time to contribute to the community through various churches, school councils and church interest groups. At Blessed Trinity Catholic Church parish where he was a member for over 50-years, Joe was a dedicated lay minister, attending masses daily in his retirement and spoke fondly of the great friendships made over the years with his fellow parishioners. As a widower, Joe met and married Nancy Malone, one of the parishioners of Blessed Trinity who became his partner and love for the next 21 years.

Joe loved to share his many varied talents. Whether he was involved with a choir, playing the piano or going to the opera, music was an important part of Joe’s life. He enjoyed drawing, painting, and building furniture. The art he created was shared generously with his family.

Joe was always ready to travel and explore new destinations especially if it was warm and hot. August heat in Florida was never an issue as he was always ‘guaranteed good weather.’ Joe and Nancy travelled extensively to Europe, Mexico, the United States and within Canada.

When you met Joe, you were always greeted with a big warm smile and a hearty handshake. He treated everyone as he wished to be treated himself, with kindness and love. Even during the frequent trips to the hospital over the last few years, Joe would always say thanks to those staff who helped him, and their response was always positive. A lesson for us all, built on humility and kindness.

The families wish to thank the staff at the North York Seniors Centre, North York General hospital and many other health service organizations for their kind service and professionalism in the last few years. In particular we would like to especially thank Pia, his personal support worker, for the love and dedication she provided him in the last two years of his life.

A Visitation for Joseph will be held Saturday, February 3, 2024 at 9:30 AM at Blessed Trinity Parish, with the Funeral Service to follow. Following the Service a reception will take place in the church hall.

Burial for Joseph will be held Saturday, February 3, 2024 at 2pm at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Save the Children or another charity of your choice.

Please see livestream instructions below,

To view the livestream please use this link: www.blessedtrinityparish.ca

This will take you to our webpage. When you get there click on the “Live Feed” button at the top right of the page. This will automatically scroll you down to the Live Feed area. Once there, click on "Livestreaming" on the left-hand side. The video will go live about 10 to 15 min before the funeral mass starts. Those who go onto the site and see no livestream are likely there before the 10 to 15min before the feed begins. Simply go back to the “live feed” and click on the button again closer to the start time of the funeral and the feed should come up on your screen.

A few notes:

*When the video launches hover your mouse over the lower left-hand part of the video screen on the webpage … there you will see a small speaker with an X beside it. Click on the speaker to enable the sound (the X will disappear)

* Click on the box on the far-right hand side of the video screen on the webpage (“full screen”) and the picture will fill your entire screen

*The volume of the sound is controlled from the computer/device you are on. You may need to increase the volume on their computer / device to hear things properly.

*A computer is the best way to watch the broadcast. Cell phones and iPad do work - marginally, but (especially) older models can sometimes have limited or outdated technology that doesn’t always manage the sizable data that comes in with both audio and video broadcasting. An old computer can also have these issues…

Also - we are broadcasting this over the internet, a system that has seen an incredible increase in use given the pandemic challenges. Potential streaming delays, frozen frames and so on do happen on occasion and unfortunately, we have no control over these situations. Further there can be delays or challenges with the internet feed in any number of neighbourhoods at anytime. Again, we have no control over this. Fortunately, they have been minimal, but we wanted you to be aware.