Memorials › Joseph Sterling Srb

Joseph Sterling Srb

11 Dec 1931 – 28 Feb 2018

Birth11 Dec 1931
Death28 Feb 2018
FaGhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/284857595

Bio

Joe Srb never hesitated when he noticed something was needed in his neighborhood, such as caring for the flowers and trees on the median near his southwest Omaha home. "He said that he kind of felt called by his creator, and it was his chance to give back to the community," said daughter Nancy Vitacco of Chicago. "He started cleaning up the trash and planting flowers and trees on that median just to make the neighborhood a nicer place." Srb began caring for the median near 114th Street and West Center Road in 1997. He continued to tend it until 2017, when his battle with prostate cancer began taking a toll. Srb died in hospice care on Feb. 28. A memorial service was held Saturday at Dundee Presbyterian Church. Srb, who grew up in South Omaha, graduated from Central High in 1950. He attended the University of Nebraska until leaving school to join the U.S. Coast Guard. He served as a medic during the Korean War. While in college, Srb developed a lifelong love of Husker sports and also met his future wife, Charlene Johnson. The couple married on June 6, 1954. Srb eventually settled into business as an insurance broker. Vitacco, a social worker, said her parents set an example of service to the community. "Dad would be the guy starting petitions to fill potholes or go around the neighborhood getting people out to vote," Vitacco said. Srb wrote numerous letters to The World-Herald's Public Pulse on a variety of topics, and even ran for the Douglas County Board in the 1970s, his daughter said. He also helped organize reunions of the now-closed Comenius Elementary School in South Omaha. "He was so gregarious and he could light up a room with a joke or make a new friend so quickly," Vitacco said. "When we were leaving a restaurant, we always had to wait for Dad because he'd be by the door meeting new people and telling one of his jokes.

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