Otto Stiem

Otto Stiem, 89 of Townline Rd., Benton Harbor, MI., passed away Wednesday, December 17, 2008, in his home. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday at First Assembly of God Church, 3084 Niles Rd., St. Joseph, MI. Friends may call from 11:30 until 1:00 P.M. on Saturday at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the German District of the Assemblies of God. He will be laid to rest at North Shore memory Gardens on Monday. Those wishing to share a memory or sign the guest book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Otto was born on February 21, 1919 in Marjanki-Lipno, Poland into a rural farming family. He was conscripted into the German Army & served from 1940 until 1945, twice wounded in action. Otto married Aline Liedtke on October 21, 1949 in Hanover, Germany. He and Aline emigrated to the United States in 1951 by way of Wellington, Nevada. They later settled on a small fruit farm in Benton Harbor in 1952. Otto worked as a machinist for Covel Manufacturing for 18 years and then retired from Gast Manufacturing after 13 years. He was a lifetime member of the First Assembly of God. Otto is survived by his wife Aline and his three children, Henrietta (Hugh) de la Foret of Coloma, MI; Doris (Scott) Keegan of Niles, MI and Robert (Margo) Stiem of Harrisburg, PA. Otto is also survived by his 5 grandchildren Natalie (Joseph) Macerata; Erik Stiem; Lindsay Stiem; Aaron Stiem and Joel Keegan and one brother, Edmund (Alma) Stiem of Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada, two nephews, one niece, and many friends. He was preceded in death by his father Gustav in 1947 in Hanover, Germany and his mother, Olga (Wiese) in 1964 in Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada. Otto was also preceded in death by his sister, Martha Albrecht in the 1970’s in Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada; brother Ewald in 1994 in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, and 3 brothers in 1940, Adolf in Marjanki, Poland, Hermann and Robert in Russia while in military service.