Paula Steckel Burkhalter

Published 1:26 pm Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Paula Steckel Burkhalter, 91, died Sunday, May 22, 2022 at Baptist Hospital. A funeral service will be held at 9:00 a.m. Thursday, May 26, 2022 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.
A graveside service will follow at 2:00 p.m. Thursday at New Palestine Cemetery in Picayune, Mississippi. Visitation will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, 2022 at Sebrell Funeral Home and will continue at 8:00 a.m. Thursday at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Mrs. Burkhalter was born on December 24, 1930, in Germany, the daughter of the late Wilhem Benno Steckel and Berta Hildegard Jahn. At age 14, she was placed in a forced labor camp after losing her homeland at the end of World War II.
She met her husband, Vol Lampton, a GI serving in Berlin.
They married in 1953 and moved to Mississippi. After losing the love of her life in 1983, she raised her children and made sure they all received an education.
Unable to complete her education due to the war, at age 60, she earned her Associate’s Degree from Pearl River Community College. She enjoyed cooking and making her Pfefferkuchen, German Christmas cookies everyone loved.
She was an active and faithful communicant of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Mrs. Burkhalter cherished her family and above all will be most remembered as a cherished mother and a beloved grandmother.
Along with her parents, Wilhem Benno Steckel and Berta Hildegard Jahn, she is preceded in death by her husband, Vol and brother, Kurt Steckel.
Survivors: son, James Burkhalter and wife Judy of Flowood, MS; daughter, Linda Stringer and husband, Gary of Picayune; son, Mark Burkhalter and wife, Molly of Brandon; son, Christopher and wife, Alexis of Madison, MS; grandchildren, Philip and Matthew Burkhalter; Lindsey Lewis; Sydney Ponder, Ben and Emma Burkhalter, Jake Everly and Nathan Burkhalter; great grandchildren, Hunter and Hannah Grace Burkhalter; Sadie Lewis. Memorials may be made to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.
Paula Steckel Burkhalter, 91, died Sunday, May 22, 2022 at Baptist Hospital. A funeral service will be held at 9:00 a.m. Thursday, May 26, 2022 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.
A graveside service will follow at 2:00 p.m. Thursday at New Palestine Cemetery in Picayune, Mississippi. Visitation will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, 2022 at Sebrell Funeral Home and will continue at 8:00 a.m.
Thursday at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Mrs. Burkhalter was born on December 24, 1930, in Germany, the daughter of the late Wilhem Benno Steckel and Berta Hildegard Jahn. At age 14, she was placed in a forced labor camp after losing her homeland at the end of World War II.
She met her husband, Vol Lampton, a GI serving in Berlin. They married in 1953 and moved to Mississippi. After losing the love of her life in 1983, she raised her children and made sure they all received an education.
Unable to complete her education due to the war, at age 60, she earned her Associate’s Degree from Pearl River Community College. She enjoyed cooking and making her Pfefferkuchen, German Christmas cookies everyone loved.
She was an active and faithful communicant of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Mrs. Burkhalter cherished her family and above all will be most remembered as a cherished mother and a beloved grandmother.
Along with her parents, Wilhem Benno Steckel and Berta Hildegard Jahn, she is preceded in death by her husband, Vol and brother, Kurt Steckel.
Survivors: son, James Burkhalter and wife Judy of Flowood, MS; daughter, Linda Stringer and husband, Gary of Picayune; son, Mark Burkhalter and wife, Molly of Brandon; son, Christopher and wife, Alexis of Madison, MS; grandchildren, Philip and Matthew Burkhalter; Lindsey Lewis; Sydney Ponder, Ben and Emma Burkhalter, Jake Everly and Nathan Burkhalter; great grandchildren, Hunter and Hannah Grace Burkhalter; Sadie Lewis. Memorials may be made to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.