Services
Obituary
Douglas Steenblock, 79, of Belmond, passed away on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, at DHR Health in Edinburg, Texas.
Memorial visitation will be held from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM on Saturday, May 10, 2025 at Ewing Funeral Home, 111 Luick's Lane South in Belmond.
Private family burial will take place at Amsterdam Cemetery in Goodell.
In lieu of flowers, memorials in Doug's name may be sent to Camp Courageous, PO Box 418 in Monticello, Iowa 52310.
Douglas James Steenblock was born in Belmond, Iowa on October 10th, 1945. He was the 7th of 14 children born to Ronald James Steenblock and Ruth Meyers Steenblock.
Doug graduated from Belmond High School in 1963. He enjoyed both wrestling and track and was a member of the “B” club.
In 1964, he met Sandra Kay Alphs at the Belmond Mello Maid. They fell in love and married in 1966, creating a family and having two daughters, Allison Kay and Rachael Lynn.
During his school years, Doug anticipated joining the military, but health issues prevented this. Doug was a good provider for his family and a hard worker for his employers. He enjoyed working for the fertilizer plant and Central Soya. He was a shift foreman at Central Soya until they closed meal processing in 1983. He then started a new career at Eaton Corp. where he made many friends and worked until his retirement. After retiring, he began to mow the bike trail and parks for the city. This gave him ample opportunities to pass out his candy and catch up on neighborhood news. Doug also worked at the Goodell Co-op part time for numerous years and was always willing to help farm with his brother-in-law, Tiny, when needed. Doug was a member of the Bethany Reformed Church where he served as a deacon until the church closed, he then became a member of First Reformed Church of Alexander.
Doug also enjoyed vacation time and retirement by fishing in Canada, visiting family in the deep South, and “trying” to golf. He loved cruising and visited Alaska, Mexico, Hawaii, South America and numerous ports in the Caribbean. While retired, he enjoyed wintering in McAllen Texas and entertaining friends and visiting family. He enjoyed coffee on the patio, (especially when Iowa was having cold temperatures and snowstorms), playing pool, attending music jams and riding around on his golf cart with Loren and Jerry looking for mischief. He died unexpectedly on December 10, 2024, while wintering at his home in McAllen.
Doug is survived by his wife Sandy, his daughters Allison of Belmond and Rachael (Aaron) Echtenkamp of Norwalk; two grandsons, Dillion and Cameron Jensen; sisters Sandra (Fred) Sunkten of Meservey, Marion (Kevin) Buseman of Dows, Cindy Juhlin of Dows; brothers Dennis (Cheryl) Steenblock of Belmond, Greg Steenblock of Ankeny and Randy (Candi) Steenblock of West Lafayette, Indiana; brother-in-law Robert Negrete of Lakeville Minnesota; sisters-in-law Marj Steenblock of Belmond and Ronda Steenblock of Storm Lake; Aunt Shirley Kvale of Northwood; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings Ron, Harry, Connie, Gladys, Debra, Dallas and David.
Doug, the candy man, is remembered as a great guy, a hard worker, and a man whose family meant everything to him. He was deeply loved and deeply missed.