In Memoriam: Jeffrey Henry “Jeff” Steinkamp

Jeffrey Henry “Jeff” Steinkamp of Quincy, Illinois, former head engineer at Hollister-Whitney, passed away on December 17 at age 71. He is remembered as a brilliant engineer, loving family man, community leader, devout Catholic, friend and mentor. After earning a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois, Steinkamp spent nearly 50 years as a registered professional engineer. He was awarded five U.S. patents and, more recently, designed an elevator guiderail bracket system that friend and colleague Eli Friedman is selling through his company, Fundamental Elevator. Friedman said he plans to name the bracket system in honor of Steinkamp. When he was not spending time with family, Steinkamp devoted much of his time to serving his community. Roles he held with the city of Quincy include city engineer, airport director, central services director, aeronautics commissioner, plan commissioner and park board commissioner. For fun, he loved being in the sky: He made nearly 400 parachute jumps and, in his later years, could often been seen flying over his beloved Quincy on a powered paraglider with an American flag in tow. Survivors include his wife, Cindy; daughters, Jenna and Jayme; and three grandchildren. He was preceded in death by daughter, Jonda.