Maureen Kane Steinecke

Maureen K. Steinecke was born in Boston, MA, the daughter of Martin and Helen Kane. She received her bachelor's degree from Middlebury College in 1954 and Master of Library Science from Pratt Institute in 1956. That year, she married Charles Steinecke III. She worked in the Children's Department of the DC Public Library from 1956 to 1959, leaving when her first child was born.

In 1973, in the aftermath of court-ordered desegregation, she was elected to the Prince George's County Board of Education, representing the Laurel-Beltsville-College Park area. Re-elected in 1976, she resigned in 1979 to become Executive Director of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE). At MABE, she established self-insurance pools for liability and workers' compensation insurance, which meant significant savings for member boards' budgets. In addition she laid the groundwork for the Association's legal services program. Retiring in 1981, she and her husband formed Steinecke Associates, Inc., which assisted governing boards in superintendent searches, newsletter preparation, and other activities. Both Steineckes retired from the firm in 1988.

An active member of St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Laurel, she served three terms on its Vestry and was a member of two Search Committees. She began a Prayer Shawl Ministry, which made shawls for those in need.

She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Charles Steinecke III; son, John Steinecke, his fiancAC.e Ellen Bomasang, and their children Charlotte and Helen Steinecke (her granddaughters), and Andrew and Ernest Son of Takoma Park, MD; daughter, Dr. Ann Steinecke and her partner Dr. Sharon Groves of Washington, DC; daughter, the Reverend Patricia Downing and her husband, the Reverend Richard Downing, of Wilmington, DE; brother Brian Kane of Midlothian, VA; and sister, Ann Bailey of Pasadena, CA.

The service will be held at St. Philip's Episcopal Church on Monday, February 3, 2014 at 11 am, 522 Main Street, Laurel, MD. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Philip's Episcopal Church.