Fred Steffen, 91, retired editor of the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, died Saturday, May 18, 2013 at his home in Eau Claire.
Steffen spent 43 years as a working journalist in Eau Claire, two years in Washington, D.C. as a congressional secretary, three and one-half years in the U.S. Army during World War II and 66 years as a happily married husband and father.
He is survived by his wife, the former Arlene Braithwaite; two sons, Robert F. (Elizabeth) of Hudson and Donald R. of Menomonie; daughter, Gail (Richard) Yule of Eau Claire; four grandchildren, Aaron (Emily) Steffen of Roberts, Jordan (Lanae) Steffen of Hudson, Nicole (Dillon) Anderson of Oakdale, Minn., and Zachary Wiegand of Bayport, Minn.; and five great-grandchildren, Ezekiel Steffen; Pierce, Sealey and Ever Anderson; and Buckley Wiegand.
Memorial service will be held 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 30, 2013 at Bethesda Lutheran Brethren Church (123 W. Hamilton Avenue) with the Reverend Rodney Venberg officiating. Visitation will be on Wednesday from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Evergreen Funeral Home (Golf Road one block East of Hwy 93) and also one hour prior to service at church. Interment will be in the Northern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery - Spooner. In lieu of flowers memorials are preferred.
A 1939 Monroe High School graduate, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he joined the U.S. Army Reserves before being called into military service in March 1943.
After Air Force basic training in Florida he was assigned to study engineering at the University of Illinois in the Army Specialized Training Program. When that course was discontinued he was sent to Camp Crowder, Mo. for Signal Corps training in cryptography. That duty took him to the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations where he drove a weapons carrier across the Stillwell Road from India into China before signal center duty in Kunming, Shanghai and Nanking.
After his discharge from service and with his UW-Madison journalism degree in hand, he went to work as assistant state editor of the Eau Claire Leader in October, 1946. He and Arlene married in Richland Center in April of 1947. He had served as wire desk editor and state editor before accepting in 1957 a two-year appointment as secretary to U.S. Representative Lester Johnson, (D-Black River Falls).
After rejoining the Leader-Telegram he became managing editor in 1968 and succeeded Marshall B. Atkinson as editor after Atkinson's death in 1981. In the years that followed he wrote editorials, a weekly column, and helped the editorial staff adjust to the merger of the morning Leader with the afternoon Daily Telegram and its transition into computerized editing and offset printing. He retired in 1991 and became a Junior Achievement Middle School consultant twice a year.
Steffen was an active member of Kiwanis, Toastmasters, UW-Eau Claire Citizens Advisory Council and Journalism Advisory Board, Wisconsin Associated Press, past president; American Society of Newspaper Editors, American Legion and DAV. He was also active in church activities, most recently at Bethesda Lutheran Brethren Church.
He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Jacob (June, 1935) and Louisa (March, 1982), owners of the City Hotel, now the Swiss Haus; brothers, Herbert (October, 1997) of Monroe and Paul (Rudy) (February, 1983) of San Jose, Calif.; and sister, Helen (Mrs. Ralph Monteith) (April, 1997) of Richland Center.
To send your condolence to the family, please see our obituaries at www.evergreenfuneralhome.com.
Steffen spent 43 years as a working journalist in Eau Claire, two years in Washington, D.C. as a congressional secretary, three and one-half years in the U.S. Army during World War II and 66 years as a happily married husband and father.
He is survived by his wife, the former Arlene Braithwaite; two sons, Robert F. (Elizabeth) of Hudson and Donald R. of Menomonie; daughter, Gail (Richard) Yule of Eau Claire; four grandchildren, Aaron (Emily) Steffen of Roberts, Jordan (Lanae) Steffen of Hudson, Nicole (Dillon) Anderson of Oakdale, Minn., and Zachary Wiegand of Bayport, Minn.; and five great-grandchildren, Ezekiel Steffen; Pierce, Sealey and Ever Anderson; and Buckley Wiegand.
Memorial service will be held 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 30, 2013 at Bethesda Lutheran Brethren Church (123 W. Hamilton Avenue) with the Reverend Rodney Venberg officiating. Visitation will be on Wednesday from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Evergreen Funeral Home (Golf Road one block East of Hwy 93) and also one hour prior to service at church. Interment will be in the Northern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery - Spooner. In lieu of flowers memorials are preferred.
A 1939 Monroe High School graduate, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he joined the U.S. Army Reserves before being called into military service in March 1943.
After Air Force basic training in Florida he was assigned to study engineering at the University of Illinois in the Army Specialized Training Program. When that course was discontinued he was sent to Camp Crowder, Mo. for Signal Corps training in cryptography. That duty took him to the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations where he drove a weapons carrier across the Stillwell Road from India into China before signal center duty in Kunming, Shanghai and Nanking.
After his discharge from service and with his UW-Madison journalism degree in hand, he went to work as assistant state editor of the Eau Claire Leader in October, 1946. He and Arlene married in Richland Center in April of 1947. He had served as wire desk editor and state editor before accepting in 1957 a two-year appointment as secretary to U.S. Representative Lester Johnson, (D-Black River Falls).
After rejoining the Leader-Telegram he became managing editor in 1968 and succeeded Marshall B. Atkinson as editor after Atkinson's death in 1981. In the years that followed he wrote editorials, a weekly column, and helped the editorial staff adjust to the merger of the morning Leader with the afternoon Daily Telegram and its transition into computerized editing and offset printing. He retired in 1991 and became a Junior Achievement Middle School consultant twice a year.
Steffen was an active member of Kiwanis, Toastmasters, UW-Eau Claire Citizens Advisory Council and Journalism Advisory Board, Wisconsin Associated Press, past president; American Society of Newspaper Editors, American Legion and DAV. He was also active in church activities, most recently at Bethesda Lutheran Brethren Church.
He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Jacob (June, 1935) and Louisa (March, 1982), owners of the City Hotel, now the Swiss Haus; brothers, Herbert (October, 1997) of Monroe and Paul (Rudy) (February, 1983) of San Jose, Calif.; and sister, Helen (Mrs. Ralph Monteith) (April, 1997) of Richland Center.
To send your condolence to the family, please see our obituaries at www.evergreenfuneralhome.com.