Gerald E. "Jake" Steil

March 3, 1947 - April 26, 2020

Gerald (Jake) E. Steil, 73 of Livermore, passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, April 26th, 2020. He was born March 3rd, 1947 in St. Cloud, Minnesota the son of Edward and Lucille (Stein) Steil. When he was 3 years old the family moved to a farm near Hardy, Iowa and he attended Humboldt High School until drafted by the United States Army. In 1966 he went to Camp Dodge in Des Moines, followed by Basic Training in Missouri. From there, he transferred to Louisiana for AIT training. He went to Vietnam in 1967 where he earned a Vietnam Service Medal with 3 Bronze Stars, a Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, a National Defense Service Medal, Combat Infantry Badge and a sharpshooter. He came back to Fort Hood, Texas and was released from active duty. There, he met Virginia Marie. The couple moved back to the Humboldt / Livermore area where they were united in marriage on December 28th, 1968 in Livermore. Jake worked in Algona at Cozzini as a welder/supervisor until he retired in 2009 after 37 years. The couple made their home in Livermore. Jake adored his family whom he took camping and fishing often. He had a passion for muscle cars. He loved to joke around and his contagious laugh will be missed dearly. He is survived by his wife, Virginia of Livermore; children Jerry (Tracy) Steil of Algona, Sheri (Jon) Hotovec of Humboldt, Wendy (Bob) Nilles of Gilmore City; sister and brother- in-law Dean and Judy Weier of Bradgate; 8 in-laws; 10 grandchildren Cody (Christine), Austin and Brandon Steil, Morgan, Breanna and Alexis Hotovec, Kallie, Kaysie, Kinley and Jack Nilles, 1 great-granddaughter Blakely Steil and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father Edward Steil, mother Lucille Steil Christensen, step-father Richard (Chris) Christensen, sister and brother in-law Joyce (Robert) Bannert, infant great-granddaughter Cambrie Steil and 2 infant nephews. Family services will be held at a later date. Burial will be in Mount Calvary Cemetery, Livermore. The Mason-Lindhart Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. www.masonlindhart.com