Jonathon Reuben Steffens, 30, of Clermont passed away on December 1, 2020 with his wife and parents by his side at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, following his heroic year-long battle against a cancer he was sure he could conquer.
Jonathon was born in Atlantic, Iowa on January 30, 1990. An answer to their prayers, he was held for the first time in the loving arms of his parents, Marilyn (Bouska) and Kevin Steffens on March 12, 1990. He was raised as a happy farm boy for his first three years on a dairy farm near Oelwein, then moved with his family to their dairy farm a mile west of Maynard where he grew up actively involved on the farm, being in the barn with his parents doing daily chores and field work. He could drive a skid loader when he was five and developed a passion for fixing and making things. In third grade, he didn’t think he needed to go to school anymore and when questioned by his teacher about needing to learn things in school so he could help his dad fix a baler, he told Mr. Dienst he already knew how to fix it. Jonathon graduated from West Central with the Class of 2008. He was a 9-year Harlan-Fremont 4-H member, who loved the fair and enjoyed showing his cow September. He was on the county council and traveled with them to Washington DC in 2007. His pride and joy was an International 1468 tractor he restored as a 4-H project and took on many parades and tractor rides. He attended the John Deere Ag Tech program at NICC and following graduation in 2010, he started working at Bodensteiner Implement in Clermont. After 5 years, he briefly worked for Bryan Heavy Equipment before achieving his goal of starting his own custom farm repair business, Jon’s Repair in 2015. He also did custom round baling and farmed with his parents.
Following a private wedding on January 1, 2017, Jon married the love of his life, Krista Lane at Heritage Farm Park in Clermont on August 12, 2017 and they started a family which grew to include five children, Eli Steege-10, Blake Steege-8, Destinee Opperman-7, Tanner Steffens-6, and Cassidy Steffens -4.
A gifted mechanic, Jon could fix anything he put his mind to. He was a computer and technical genius who enjoyed sharing his knowledge with others. His brilliant mind was always full of new ideas; he was a hard-worker; a night owl who often worked all night to finish a project. He loved being outdoors, farming, planting corn, combining, hunting, riding the side-by-side with his family, and trout fishing, especially with his grandpa. He would have round baled 365 days a year if that were possible. He was good at everything he did. Concerts, puzzles, cooking, bowling league, and social media were a few of his favorite things; he enjoyed trying out new recipes for his family and most recently added cake decorating to his many talents. Tall, thin, and handsome, Jon was a charmer; a kid-at-heart who loved joking and pulling pranks. He was also very private person, never wanting to be the center of attention with a stubborn streak who wouldn’t talk if he didn’t want to. Most of all, Jon was a fun-loving guy, with a kind heart, a beautiful smile and a twinkle in his eye, who was a helpful friend to all.
Those left to cherish Jon’s memory and heal their broken hearts are his wife, children, parents, father-in-law Mike (Linda) Lane, brothers and sister-in-laws, Katrina (Michael) Lane, Leanna Lane (Kenny), Austin Heins-Harris (Gavin), Jack Lane, Andre’ Heins (Mandy), Vanessa Loera, Jessica Loera; his aunts and uncles, Brenda (Mark) Steffens Johnson, Alan (Brenda) Steffens, Karen (Marc) Vandegrift, Kevin Bouska, Dale (Tracey) Bouska, cousins, nieces, nephews and countless friends.
He was proceeded in death by his grandparents Reuben & Mary Steffens and John & Rosemary Bouska.
A Public Visitation will be held Friday, December 4, 2020 from 4-8 p.m. at Burnham-Wood-Grau Funeral Home in West Union, Iowa. Due to state guidelines there will be a maximum capacity of 15 people in the building at a time with masks and social distancing required.
A Private Family Funeral will be held Saturday, December 5, 2020 at 11 a.m. at West Clermont Church.
The public is welcome to join for a drive-in service and listen to Jonathon’s service on 99.5 FM and join the family for the graveside service at God’s Acres, Clermont, Iowa.
Jonathon’s services will also be streamed on West Clermont’s facebook page.
Schutte-Grau Funeral Home and Cremation Service is assisting the family with arrangements.