John Edgar Stieneker

John Edgar Stieneker passed away peacefully on March 26, 2026, at the age of 91. Born on Halloween 1934 in Waco, Texas to Edgar Fred Stieneker and Ruby Prince Stieneker, John led a notable life in both business and athletics.

John was a champion. He won the Houston junior city golf championship at the age of 14 and was a member of Houston Lamar High School's State championship basketball team of 1951. He was also on Lamar's golf team and played for Baylor University's freshman golf and basketball teams. However, John found his greatest success as a senior golfer. He qualified for three USGA Senior Amateur championships and two US Senior Opens. In 1992 he bested over 2,000 players through qualifying, medal, and match play to make it to the semi-finals of the US Senior Amateur. This earned him an exemption to the 1993 US Senior Open where, in the second round, he bettered Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino.

Beyond his athletic achievements, John built a distinguished career in business. He parlayed his insurance experience with the Travelers into a position with SCI in Houston, where he rose to Senior Vice President and was instrumental in the growth of Guardian Plans, SCI's pre-need insurance initiative. His career with SCI spanned over 20 years, culminating in his well-earned retirement.

The love of John's life was his wife, Betty. The two met in second grade at University Park Elementary and famously went "steady" in seventh grade. A family favorite was a photo of John and Betty taken when they were 13. Betty looked like a Hollywood starlet, while John, who had not yet caught Betty in height, appeared to be years away from his first shave. The two were reunited and married in 1969, remaining so until Betty's passing in 2022. They were inseparable — unless the occasion involved a Baylor/SMU football game, where they would begin the game seated together only to inevitably part ways by the second quarter, with one migrating to their own corner of the stadium to cheer in peace.

John is survived by his son Jay Stieneker and daughter-in-law Tracey; daughter Andrea Skaggs and son-in-law Karl; grandson Bryan Stieneker; granddaughters Kate Skaggs, Megan Skaggs, and Adelaide Thomas and her husband Luke; and step-children Mary McCammon and Mac McCammon.

"See you in the finals!"