Where is Freddie Steinmark’s Family Now?

of Where is Freddie Steinmark’s Family Now? Sumith Prasad
February 6, 2024

Angelo Pizzo’s biographical drama film ‘My All American’ depicts football sensation Freddie Steinmark’s upbringing in Colorado in the presence of his father Fred Steinmark and mother Gloria Steinmark. Fred guides his son as far as the latter’s career is concerned with immense passion and determination. As Freddie’s father, he makes sure that he is there among the spectators whenever the former is playing football. Gloria joins her husband occasionally and the couple lends their support to their son when he battles bone cancer. Decades after Freddie’s tragic and untimely death, Fred and Gloria are not with us. However, the surviving members of the Steinmark family continue to make sure that their loved one’s legacy remains bright in the world!

Who Are Freddie Steinmark’s Family Members?

Freddie Steinmark was born to Fred “Freddie Gene” Steinmark and Gloria Marchitti. Fred and Gloria got together while attending Denver North High School. At the time, Fred was a shortstop who was elected as Colorado’s All-American baseball boy for 1946. “What Fred wanted was to get married. She [Gloria] was seventeen. He was nineteen. His aunt and uncle met them at the courthouse in Golden, Colorado, and stood up for them. The marriage was recorded, but wouldn’t be blessed in a church until March of the following year, after Fred had taken classes required by the Catholic Church,” Bower Yousse and Thomas J. Cryan wrote in the book ‘Freddie Steinmark: Faith, Family, Football.’

Fred couldn’t embrace baseball as his career after his car was hit head-on by a coal truck. The injuries to his knee and throwing arm eliminated his dream of playing in major league baseball. In 1949, Freddie was born. The couple welcomed his sister Gloria “GiGi” Gene in 1951, the year Fred was batting an average of .361 for an unaffiliated team in the Western Association. After becoming the father of two children, Fred realized that it was time for him to focus on being a dad rather than a baseball player. Fred and Gloria went on to have two more children, Paula Kay AKA “P.K.” in 1954 and Sammy Scott in 1956.

“Two boys and two girls. We didn’t have any money to do anything, but we had a lot of love,” Gloria said about her family, as per Yousse and Cryan’s book. As a former player, Fred motivated Freddie to dream and achieve big in football. When Freddie was diagnosed with malignant osteogenic sarcoma, they remained a significant part of his life. Until the very moment he drew his last breath, Fred and Gloria didn’t stop looking after their son.

Where Are Freddie Steinmark’s Family Members Now?

Fred “Freddie Gene” Steinmark passed away on February 6, 2000, at the age of 70. He is buried in Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery, located in Wheat Ridge, Jefferson County, in the state of Colorado. The Steinmark family hasn’t publicized the cause of death of the former policeman. After Fred’s death, Gloria lived with the memories of her late husband and son. “I used to think it, but I know not to say ‘why’ anymore. I think he [Freddie] was so special, God wanted him,” she told The Denver Post in 2006 about her son’s death. To preserve the legacy of Freddie, Gloria inspired Bower Yousse and Thomas J. Cryan to write ‘Freddie Steinmark: Faith, Family, Football.’

“Gloria had been thinking for some time that an accurate biography of Freddie should be written because, without it, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren would never know who their Uncle Freddie really was. It was a bittersweet but necessary endeavor,” Yousse and Cryan wrote in the book, acknowledging the inspiration behind their work. Gloria passed away on September 13, 2021, at the age of 90. She is also buried in Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery.

Fred and Gloria’s other son Sammy, Freddie’s brother, is a senior corporate development executive in PSS Industrial Group (PVF), an energy and industrial market supplier company based in Colorado. Sammy is a regular attendee of events that concern Freddie. He often addresses crowds to talk about his brother’s life and resilience, especially at The University of Texas, the latter’s alma mater. GiGi and P.K., Sammy and Freddie’s sisters, however, have stayed away from the spotlight. Still, they extensively collaborated with Yousse and Cryan for the duo to write their brother’s biography.

“For years, P.K. was the driving force behind the golf tournaments that honored her brother and raised money for cancer research. She dove into every task we gave her with the same enthusiasm that made the tournaments so successful,” Yousse and Cryan wrote. “GiGi gave us great insight into the evolution of the Fred Steinmark Award and shared many stories about its recipients and what winning it means to them,” further reads ‘Freddie Steinmark: Faith, Family, Football.’

Read More: Linda Wheeler: Where is Freddie Steinmark’s Girlfriend Now?

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