Harold E. M. Steiner turns 100
Harold E. “Ernie” M. Steiner of Rostraver Township celebrated his 100th birthday Monday. A lifelong Rostraver resident, he was drafted in World War II and served from 1944 to 1946. He served as a corpsman in the U.S. Navy at the Charleston, S.C. Naval hospital, caring for those wounded in the war. One of his favorite stories is that he met the sergeant who raised the flag at the Battle of Iwo Jima while the sergeant was traveling around the U.S.
Harold E. “Ernie” Steiner is shown with his late wife, Dora. Submitted
Growing up in a broken family, his goal in life was to marry and have his own family. In 1950, he married Dora Elizabeth Prince. They remained married until her death in 2018. They raised five children, Darlene R. Brown of Elizabeth, Harold E. M. Steiner Jr. of Elizabeth, Richard H. Steiner of Dunbar, the late Dwaine J. Steiner and Judy L. Steiner of Rostraver. He has four grandchildren, Thomas A. Brown III and Tammi R. Brown, both of Elizabeth, Andrea Steiner Deramo of Cranberry Township, and Aimee M. Derrick of Gibsonia.
He held various jobs through the years, doing whatever it took to support the family, including working at Corning Glass in Charleroi, Junction Auto in Rostraver, and U.S. Steel in Clairton, from which he retired.
He used to love working on cars and motorcycles, and had many through the years. He also loved gardening, and says there’s nothing like a homegrown tomato.
Steiner attended Salem Baptist Church since a teenager, which was on the same road on which he grew up — Salem Church Road in Rostraver. When he married, he built his own house on Salem Church Road next to where his grandparents lived — two rooms to start with, then added on as the family grew, and ensured that all of his children attended church every Sunday. The church has a much smaller congregation now, but it is very important to him to go each Sunday when he is able, and on Wednesday for Bible study.
The couple stayed in their home until 2013, when they finally agreed it was best to downsize. They moved to a house on Willowbrook Road, which is where he lives today, but still misses his home on Salem Church Road.
