Early morning on December 13, 2014, a wonderful woman made her way to a better place. Maria quietly passed away at home in Ramona after enduring 12 years of Parkinson’s and later dementia. She was born at home in Niederwil, Switzerland, October 1, 1931, on a poultry farm, the youngest daughter of Robert and Marie Seiler. In 1948 she immigrated to Canada with her family where they settled on a dairy farm in Mitchell, Ontario. Wanting to live in a warmer climate, she moved to Santa Monica in 1953 and worked at her sister and brother-in-law’s pastry shop (Swiss Pastries by Marcel) on Wilshire Boulevard for three years. She was also an Au Pair in Malibu for a while. While in Santa Monica, she met and fell in love with Charles Steiner, a first generation Swiss, who was born and grew up in Santa Monica on a dairy farm.

After getting married in 1956, they moved to Ramona in 1966 with their three children after living in Fontana, California, and Lisbon, Illinois. In 1970, Maria and Charles bought an egg farm on Steffy Lane. Maria dedicated her time to her family and being the bookkeeper of their Swiss Mountain View Egg Farm business for 48 years. During this time she was very active in the IHM Catholic Church, being on the building committee for the new church, president of the Alter and Rosary Society for many years and being the driving force behind many of the annual turkey dinners at the church. Additionally, she was a board member of the San Diego Diocesan Deanery.

While her children were growing up and for a number of years after, Maria was very active in the Ramona Stars 4-H club where she was the Community Leader of the club and also the leader of the sheep, cooking, and sewing projects. Many will remember her famous brownies which she baked for each 4-H community meeting to ensure sure she got most of the club to attend the meetings. She was also on the organizing boards of the Ramona Community Fair during its key building and growth phases and the 4-H board of the Del Mar fair where she used her gentle persuasion to make sure 4-H remained the key focus of the fairs.

In 1986 Maria and her daughter, Sonja, took over the Ramona Café on Main Street. She spent the early years of the business perfecting the recipes of everything from the sausage gravy to the pies and cinnamon rolls. While Sonja ran the restaurant, Maria was the restaurant baker which later Sonja took over.

Maria had been active in the San Diego Swiss Society in Chula Vista where she was able to keep up with her Swiss language, heritage and many friends. She and Charles enjoyed singing in the San Diego Swiss Singers group for many years and travelled up the coast for many Saengerfests.

Maria was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Marie Seiler, and brother, Robert Seiler. She is survived by her loving husband of 58 years, Charles Steiner; daughter, Sonja Steiner of Ramona, CA; sons, Dr. Charley Steiner, DVM, of Fallbrook, CA, and Stefan Steiner of Issaquah, WA; grandchildren, Chase, Marianna and Rebecca; sisters, Margrith Burlet and Sylvia Bruhin and brother Stephan Seiler. Additionally, Maria and Charles consider Dr. Elisabeth Brandenburg, MD, of Whitefish, MT, a daughter since Beth came to live on the farm as a young woman in the 70’s and became very close to the family. Beth has a husband Todd and two children, Geoff and Tim.

Maria will have a Funeral Mass at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Ramona, CA, on January 19, 2015, at 10am. Before the mass at 9:30am, there will be a Rosary. There will be a celebration of life in the church hall immediately following her funeral. After the celebration, Maria will be interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum in San Diego, CA.

Please sign and write any stories you remember about Maria and receive further information about her funeral at: www.forevermissed.com/maria-steiner. This site will remain online indefinitely.