Jeanine “Gram” Steinquist (née Mance)
Died on Nov. 17, 2024, at her Joliet home surrounded by her family after a brief battle with cancer. She was 84.
Born in Joliet on May 21, 1940, to Evelyn (née Majetic) and Frank Mance, Jeanine graduated from Lockport Township High School and went on to be a retail associate, office cleaner, homemaker, and mother of six children.
Jeanine was known for many things including her deep love for her family and friends, her stubbornness, strength, and determination to live life on her own terms, and a sense of humor that could make even the saltiest of sailors blush.
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When she wasn’t working, raising hell with her friends, or threatening to put her grandchildren in the closet for misbehaving, she spent her time cooking and trying new recipes, crafting her famous “Christmas Balls,” fishing on the Illinois and Kankakee rivers and in Minocqua, Wisconsin, and “cha-chinging,” otherwise known as playing the slots.
An avid bird watcher, Jeanine’s backyard was a birder’s paradise with multiple birdhouses, bushes and trees all conveniently located outside the kitchen window she always sat next to. She instilled a love of birding in her family and taught them all they know about many different avians, including The Bird, and green and purple ducks.
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Outside of her family, Jeanine had many loves in her life. She was a fan of racing and drivers Sammy Swindell and Jeff Gordon. She cheered on her favorite sports teams, the Chicago Bears and the Kansas City Chiefs, until the moment of her passing. And she had a long-standing crush on Elvis Presley.
She was more than just a mother or grandmother; she was a friend and shoulder of support, a teacher who taught all of her grandkids their first curse word, and a pillar of stability for her loved ones, especially in the hardest of times. To say she will be missed is a sore understatement, as her family and friends will continue their days knowing she will never again greet them from her kitchen chair with a cigarette in hand, a smile on her face, and her signature phrase, “yep, yep.”
She is preceded in death by her mother and father, husband Wayne “Pa” Steinquist, son Donnie Blazekovich, sister Geri Grant and brother-in-law James Conroy.
She is survived by her five children: Denise (Garry) Colbert, Tammy (Jim) Relyea, Jim Blazekovich, Kathy (Chris) Nash and Wade Steinquist (Darrow Voitik); brother, Jim (Sandy) Mance, and sister, Marilyn Conroy; 15 grandchildren: Eric (Stacy) Fox, Nikki (D.J.) Johnston, Jen (Nick) Cosmos, Lauren and Connor Relyea, Joey, Ryan and Zac Blazekovich, C.J. (Paige Zick) and Alex Nash, and Logan and Piper Steinquist; six great-grandchildren: Josh and Jake Fox, Evelyn and Wayne Cosmos, Olivia Johnston, and Chase Nash; and close friends: Gloria Offermann, Karen (Dave) Puntney, Dorothy (Joe) Wunar and Bettye Ruggeri; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers memorials to Lightways Hospice will be appreciated. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Carlson Holmquist Sayles Funeral Home and Crematory January 4, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. For information please call (815) 744-0022 or visit www.chsfuneral.com.
