Stephen Henry Koelz, 12 Mar 1936 - 23 May 2021

KOELZ, EKBLAD, BENNINGER, KESTERSON, SUCHAN, ENGLAND, LARSON, STRAYHALL, ZIEBERT, PIERCE

Posted By: Sarah Witte (email)
Date: 6/28/2021 at 14:15:35

Stephen H. Koelz, 85, of Orion, died Sunday, May 23, 2021, in Highland Ridge Nursing Home, Williamsburg, Iowa.

Services are 11 AM Thursday at Trimble Funeral Home, Moline, with Rev. Jerry Helms officiating. Burial is in Greenview Memorials Gardens, East Moline, where Moline American Legion will present military honors. A luncheon at CityView Celebrations at Trimble Pointe will follow the burial. Visitation is 4 to 7 PM Wednesday. Memorials may be made to the Moline Rotary Foundation.

Steve was born March 12, 1936, in Moline, to Henry and Lillian (Ekblad) Koelz. He graduated from Moline High School and attended Iowa State University until joining the US Army. He married Beverly Irene Benninger on September 10, 1961, in Moline. She died November 22, 2013. He started working for his father at Texaco at the age of 12, and after being discharged from the Army in 1965, he owned Koelz DX in Moline, retiring in 1996.

He was a member of Moline Rotary Club for over 65 years, and belonged to First Congregational Church, Doric Masonic Lodge #319, Orion American Legion, Ducks Unlimited, NRA, and Henry County Republicans. He loved hunting, fishing, trap and skeet shooting, and enjoyed several coffee groups. His special hobby was duck hunting with friends at his farm in McCausland, Iowa, Saddleback Farm, where he operated a private duck club.

Steve is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Kristine and Kirby Kesterson of Williamsburg; grandchildren, Grayson Kesterson, Taylor Suchan and her husband Jared, and Mitchell Kesterson and his fiancée Sami England; great-grandchildren, Charlotte and Calvin Suchan; his sister, Karla Larson; and nieces and nephews, Henry (Heidi) Larson, Jenny (Terry) Strayhall, and Steve Larson (Jack Ziebert). He was preceded in death by his wife, his parents, and a niece, Joan Pierce.

Condolences may be shared at TrimbleFuneralHomes.com.

Published in the Journal Tribune on June 2, 2021.