Elwert W. Kansteiner

Elwert W. Kansteiner, 90, of Austin (formerly of La Grange), died Thursday, Aug. 12, 2015 at Brookdale Parmer Lane Assisted Living Facility in Austin. Elwert was born in the Shaws Bend community in Colorado County on July 5, 1925, the son of Ewald and Elizabeth (Balzer) Kansteiner. He began life on a  cotton farm, and as a teenager served his country in the US Army in World War II, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge and earning a purple heart and  other military decorations. After months of recuperating in an army hospital in England, he returned to Central Texas and married his sweetheart, Earline  Shoppa. They were married 61 years, until her death in 2011, and he was a loyal and caring companion and caregiver to her during their marriage and the illness preceding her death. Elwert’s professional life was the oil exploration business, which took him and his family to many small towns in Texas, New Mexico, and Louisiana, with the last 20 years of his career spent in Denver, Colorado. In 1992, Elwert and Ear line retired from Denver to La Grange, and spent many wonderful years with relatives, childhood friends, and caring neighbors. Elwert was preceded in death  by his parents, his wife, a beloved sister, Alvina Poenitzsch, and his in-laws and close friends Lee Roy Shoppa and Gladys Shoppa. He is survived by his son Gary Kansteiner and wife Debra  Monroe of Austin, grandchildrenFraiser Kansteiner and Marie Monroe, numerous nieces and nephews, and good friends in Denver, La Grange, and Austin. Funeral Services were held  on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015, 2:00 pm at Henneke Funeral Home with Pastor Alan Kethan officiating. Interment followed in Brune Cemetery in Shaws Bend.In lieu of flowers, memorial  contributions may be made to St. John Lutheran Church, 110 W. Fayette Street, Ellinger, Texas 78938. Online condolences may be shared with the family at www. hennekefuneralhome.com. Goodbye, Grandpa. You will be missed very much. Henneke Funeral Home in Columbus was in charge of arrangements.