William "Bill" K. Steiner's Obituary
STEINERWilliam Kalman ‘Bill’, 82, of Aventura, FL, passed away on December 27, 2012 in the loving arms of his wife, Sheila. They had been married for 51 years. Bill finally succumbed after a valiant three-year struggle with pancreatic cancer. His courage, strength and positive attitude during this most challenging battle was an inspiration to all who knew him. In addition to his wife, Bill is survived by his four sons, Robert (Boots Whitmer), Richard, Michael (Carol) and David and his four much-loved grandchildren, Marc and Katie of San Francisco and Jacki and Jessica of Hallandale. He is also survived by a younger brother, Tom and his wife, Pru and Tom’s daughter, Becky. He is predeceased by his youngest son, Jim, who perished in a tragic auto accident at the age of 21 in 1989.Bill was born in Chicago, Illinois to Ruth and Kalman Steiner. Bill was a brilliant, thoughtful, self-made man whose creativity, curiosity and no-nonsense industriousness was reflected in everything he did. Starting at the age of 9 as a “newsie” under the IC trains in his native Chicago, he worked hard his entire life, finding fascination at every stage of his varied career. He held part time jobs in high school and worked his way through Baltimore Business college to earn his accounting degree.While working as an accountant, Bill was asked by a client to help him book rock ‘n roll shows around Baltimore. Show business soon enthralled Bill and he became a busy impresario booking prominent stars such as Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and the Kingston Trio, ’50s stars, at concerts around the country. Bill eventually tired of the constant travel and decided to leave the cold winters in the north. He moved to Miami in 1959, where he met the love of his life, Sheila, whom he married in 1961. It was in Miami that he and Sheila raised their basketball team of five sons and Bill began a new career in the dry cleaning business. After building and selling several of his own dry cleaning plants, he co-founded Dryclean USA, which continues through this day under the leadership of son, Michael. Bill was constantly seeking to improve dry cleaning machinery in order to make the industry more environmentally friendly. He is the holder of several patents for environmentally safe dry cleaning equipment and processes.Bill’s interests went far beyond the dry cleaning industry. He was an avid reader of books on history and non-fiction, a member of the Manuscript Society, an aficionado of music in all forms, a doting father and grandfather and a devoted husband to Sheila.Bill and Sheila have been members of Beth Torah Congregation in Aventura, Florida for many years. They provided for the educational center there in memory of their son, Jim. Their generosity was also focused on the community at large. In honor of their generous and long-term support, the Jackson Memorial Hospital Foundation renamed a part of the hospital to honor them, calling it the Bill and Sheila Steiner Family North Lobby.Bill’s family, friends and colleagues will miss his sound business advice, his optimism about this country, his humorous and intriguing stories of his years in sales and the love, attention and encouragement he showered on them. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the Beth Torah Congregation, Jackson Memorial Hospital or the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. Funeral services to be held Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Beth Torah Congregation, 20350 NE 26th Avenue, North Miami Beach, Florida 33180Arrangements entrusted to Levitt-Weinstein Eternal Light Funeral Service Center(305) 932-2700
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