Lasting Memories

Robert G. Stienstra Sr.
Oct. 22, 1925-Jan. 13, 2016
Palo Alto, California

Robert G. Stienstra Sr., a longtime resident of Palo Alto, passed away peacefully with his family at his bedside in Gilroy on Jan. 13, 2016.

He was born in Sioux City, Iowa, on Oct. 22, 1925. Mr. Stienstra married his high school sweetheart, Eleanor Day, on April 5, 1947. They celebrated their 68th anniversary last April.

They started a family in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, before moving to Palo Alto in 1959, where they resided for more than 50 years. They had five children, Robert Stienstra Jr. of San Jose, Nancy Davis of Tigard, Oregon; Janet Tuttle of Morgan Hill; Thomas Stienstra of McCloud, California; and Susan Stienstra-Vance of Redding, California.

Mr. Stienstra became known on the Peninsula, where with a unique blend of knowledge and charisma, he helped manage San Carlos Garden Supply. To all who met him, he was just what you thought, your friend, his family said.

He was most proud of his service during World War II with the U.S. Air Force as a tailgunner, where he saw action in India, Egypt, Italy and many other locations. "I am one of the few people to fly around the world backwards," he liked to say.

Mr. Stienstra attended the University of Iowa. In the Bay Area, Mr. Stienstra was a born salesman and worked on the Peninsula selling real estate before settling into his vocation -- gardening, landscape design and growing lilies, geraniums and orchids.

Mr. Stienstra was an active member for many years with the First Christian Church in Palo Alto.

He also loved traveling near and far with his wife, Eleanor, and they also enjoyed the 49ers, the Giants and Stanford football and basketball games. They often visited local parks to picnic, walk, and enjoy wildlife and nature. He enjoyed fishing with his boys and invented the term "The Stienstra Navy."

Mr. Stienstra was an avid storyteller and reader, with a charismatic ability to engage strangers, no matter what their background. He once appeared on a CBS television special, where with a group of youngsters on their first trip in the ocean, he caught a giant fish and was called "The Old Man and The Sea."

He was good-hearted, honest with integrity, a great dad, his family said.

In addition to his wife, sons and daughters, he is also survived by seven grandchildren: Sandra, Cathy, Gary and Ricky Davis; Alan Angal; Aaron and Justin Stienstra; and three great-grandchildren.