John Edward Steines, 52, of Duluth, passed away Feb. 8, 2012, at St. Luke’s Hospice after a four-year illness.

John was born in Austin, on Aug. 9, 1959, to Alphonse and Ruth (Scharberg) Steines. He graduated Stewartville High School in 1977 and attended Vermillion Community College in Ely, for two years. He served in the Army overseas in Germany from 1982 to 1986, graduated from University of Minnesota-Duluth with a bachelor’s degree, followed by a master’s degree in safety engineering from UMD. He has been a resident of Duluth for most of the past 25 years. John had been employed at NERCC of Duluth for the past six years.

John was an avid runner who competed in multiple Grandma’s Marathons. He was also an avid outdoorsman, enjoying fishing, rock climbing and long treks in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of Minnesota and the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

John was a wonderful son, brother, friend and acquaintance. His genuine love, kindness, unwavering courage, strong soft presence, love and respect for nature, mentorship and caring attitude toward young people and positive impact on everyone around him will always be missed. We are all better people for having had John as a part of our lives.

The family would like to extend special thanks to Mayo Clinic, St. Luke’s Hospital and St. Luke’s Hospice for their wonderful care and support over the last four years

Survivors include his parents, Alphonse and Ruth (Scharberg) Steines of Stewartville; brother, Dean (Martha) Steines of Hayfield, Minn.; sister, Linda (Christos) Petsoulis of Duluth; aunts and uncles, Robert (Patricia) Steines, Madeline (Harlan) Harrison, and Mary Ann Nelson; nieces and nephews, Megan, Daniel, Rachel, Katina, Napoleon, Christina, and grand-nephew, William; special friend, Karen Peterson and numerous other friends, acquaintances and co-workers.

Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012, at Dougherty Funeral Home, 600 East Second St., Duluth, with Trisagion Prayers at 7 p.m. Funeral Services will be 11 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, at Twelve Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church, 632 East Second Street, Duluth. Burial will be at Forest Hill Cemetery, Duluth. Arrangements by Dougherty Funeral Home (218) 727-3555. A second service will be held on Saturday, Feb. 18, at St. Bernards Catholic Church in Stewartville with visitation one hour before a prayer service at 11 a.m. Local arrangements are with Griffin-Gray Funeral Home, www.griffin-gray.com.