Sara Jane (née Robinson) Steiner, 80, a long-time elementary school educator from Burlington, Kansas died Tuesday, December 20, 2022, at Labette Health in Parsons, Kansas. Per her request, cremation will take place. A visitation will be held 2-4 p.m. Sunday, January 8, 2023 at Jones Funeral Home in Burlington, Kansas. A private memorial service will take place at a later date in Sabetha, Kansas. The cremated remains will be buried in the Albany Cemetery near Sabetha. Memorial contributions are suggested to be given to the Coffey County Library for children’s books c/o Coffey County Library 410 Juniatta Street Burlington, Kansas 66839.
Sara was born July 23, 1942, in Sabetha, Kansas the daughter of Carroll Glover and Genevieve Shields (McCrary) Robinson.
Sara graduated from Sabetha High School with the class of 1960. After high school graduation, she attended Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri before graduating with her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Kansas State Teacher’s College in Emporia, Kansas with a degree in elementary education. Later in life, as a full time teacher, she completed her Master of Arts Degree from Emporia State University with a degree in reading.
Her first elementary teaching position took her to Nieman Elementary School in Shawnee, Kansas. Wanting to be closer to home, she accepted a teaching position at Fairview Elementary School in Fairview, Kansas.
On August 6, 1966, she married Allen Wayne Steiner at the First United Methodist Church in Sabetha. They were married for fifty six years.
Sara spent many years living in Sabetha where her three children were born. She was a stay-at-home mother and substitute teacher at the Sabetha High School.
In 1982, she and Wayne with their children moved to Burlington, Kansas. In 1983, Dr. Fred LeMaster hired her to teach at Burlington Lower Elementary School. She had a long and successful career teaching kindergarten through fourth grade in Burlington. After her retirement, she spent several years working as a substitute teacher at various schools in Coffey County.
Sara, known as Mrs. Steiner to many students, had her own unique style of teaching and classroom management. She taught with zest and many times was known for teaching outside-the-box. Passing along life skills to her students was always important. Teaching good manners and how to set a dinner table were just a few of her favorite things to pass along to her students. She had a gregarious personality and liked to joke with people. She held strong opinions and loved sharing them with anyone, because she never met a stranger.
Sara was an active member of the First United Methodist Church in Sabetha, and that membership was later transferred to the First United Methodist Church in Burlington. She was a member of Chapter EB of P.E.O Sisterhood in Sabetha and later Chapter CO in Burlington. She was also a member of the KNEA and sat on the board of directors for CrossWinds Counseling and Wellness, a Kansas licensed community mental health center serving seven Kansas counties.
The past several years, Sara has enjoyed attending Bible study at First Baptist Church. The friendship she made with the study group was very important to her.
Survivors include her husband Wayne of Burlington, Kansas; two sons, Sam Steiner (Ranell) of Junction City, Kansas, and Michael (Tabitha) of Overland Park, Kansas; one daughter, Anna Steiner-Oh (Rob) of Santa Monica, California; one brother, David Robinson (Alice) of Chanute, Kansas; four grandsons, Scott Steiner, Ben Steiner, Thomas Steiner and Soren Steiner; one granddaughter, Saffi Steiner and one step-granddaughter, Chelsea Hill; two nieces, Amy Hendrickson (Ross) of Chanute, Kansas and Julie Berg (Jeremy) of Topeka, Kansas; four great nephews and nieces, Jack, Max, Carson and Reagan.
She was preceded in death by her parents.
The family would like to extend thanks to Dr. Jeff Sloyer and the providers at Coffey Health System as well as the providers at the University of Kansas Health System.