Married for 33 years, Michael and Victoria Steindorf have a rich Texas history. Victoria was a Highland Park graduate, and in 1881 her great grandfather, Tom Scollard built the first five-story building in downtown Dallas. Her grandmother was a DEB in 1912 and her sister was a DEB in 1908. “My mother was also a DEB,” shared Victoria. “The tradition continued with our daughter, Ellie, who recently participated in the DSOL DEB Ball.” Michael grew up in Houston and West Texas and moved to Dallas in the mid-80s as he joined Norton Rose Fulbright, a law firm here. The Steindorfs have three children – Michael, Caroline, and Ellie. Michael is in private equity and is a partner at Trinity Hunt. He and his wife have three girls. Caroline is a Highland Park graduate and currently lives in Columbia, South Carolina, with her husband and three sons. Youngest daughter, Ellie, just finished her sophomore year at The University of Alabama where she is studying finance.
Ancestry has become a fascinating part of the Steindorfs’ lives, and they have located genealogical records that have proven to be quite fascinating. “I was never interested much until 2012,” shared Michael. “Victoria’s side of the family can be traced back to ancestors in Jamestown. We recently took a trip to Gettysburg, Jamestown, and a family farm in Virginia where we visited Stephen Bedford’s home. My own ancestors came to Philadelphia in 1751. In a later generation there were four sons who fought in the Civil War. Having that family connection makes it very interesting.” Michael’s side of the family moved to Oak Cliff in 1900 and the oldest daughter was Della Owens Rice. In 1928 she was hired by Herbert Marcus, co-founder of Neiman Marcus and became one of its first models. “She used to ride her bike from Oak Cliff across the viaduct to Neiman’s to work downtown,” said Michael. “Her claim to fame was that she became friends with Grace Kelly and was involved in the design of her wedding dress in 1956. They exchanged letters for many years and some of those are now family heirlooms.” Interestingly, Michael and Victoria say that their daughter, Ellie, bears a resemblance to Della.
Staying involved and plugged into the community is important to Victoria, Michael, and Ellie. Victoria has volunteered in a multitude of ways. She was introduced to Junior League Dallas in the early 90s by her mother and has also been involved with the Women’s Auxiliary to Children’s Medical Hospital. She has been a volunteer at Armstrong Elementary, McCulloch and HPHS. Victoria has participated in fundraising for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, as well as raised money for Dallas Summer Musicals and participated in National Charity League, which introduced Ellie into volunteering. She enjoys golf, tennis, scuba diving, and genealogy. Michael, along with Victoria, is a member of Dallas Country Club and Park Cities Presbyterian Church. He is a past chairman of Dallas Summer Musicals and has previously served on the boards of the North Texas Food Bank and Dallas Opera. In his free time, he enjoys golf, SEC football, genealogy and US History. Ellie continues philanthropic endeavors while in college and is a member of the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority. She, along with her mother, is a member of Daughters of the American Revolution – Highland Park Chapter and has previously participated in a dance marathon to raise money for the Children’s Hospital. Additionally, she has participated in La Fiesta to raise money for arts at Highland Park.
All of these activities tend to keep the Steindorf family busy, but they do love to vacation with some of their favorite destinations being Seaside, Florida and Lake Michigan. “Lake Michigan is always a favorite,” said Michael. “Ellie grew up going there, as did Victoria, and it’s a great place to visit.” Over the years business has taken Michael to New York and London frequently and Victoria and Ellie have occasionally tagged along. The family enjoys seeing shows on Broadway and in the West End and keeping up friendships they have made in both cities.
Describing themselves as traditional, the Steindorfs say they like to perpetuate traditions. “We value those traditions and try to stay involved,” shared Victoria. “We also loved watching old movies and listening to 40s music as Ellie was growing up. By the time she was eight years old, she could recite word-for-word the Hope and Crosby Road movies.” Ellie laughed and added, “I still can! It puts everyone else to sleep, but the three of us love them more than anything!”