Birth date: Jun 10, 1949 Death date: Jan 16, 2017
Joseph W. Straka III, age 67, passed away peacefully on Monday, January 16, 2017, at Decatur Memorial Hospital in Decatur, Illinois. He was born June 10, 1949, in Granite City, Illinois to Joseph W. Straka II and Leona (Harizal) S Read Obituary
Lit a candle in memory of Joseph W Straka
I join Kitty as part of the STHS student group who greatly appreciate Mr Straka's efforts to make us better thespians and better people. We had fun and learned a great deal. And he manages his way through dealing with sometimes challenging teenagers. Best to his family.
Always enjoyed chatting with Joe (Sam, too) when I was working in the features department for the Herald & Review. Smart and funny.
Joe and I taught at St. Teresa together. We had some great times together there. A very talented, fun, honorable man. I'll miss him a lot. I always respected Joe.
Joe and I met back in 1980 when I audition for his show for Theatre 7, Forty Carats. That began a long relationship and friendship. I choreographed 2 shows for him, South Pacific and Bye Bye Birdie. No matter what I was doing for him for any theatrical show, we always had a great time! In the last recent years he and I reconnected and became very very good friends. Joe is very talented as A director and actor. But most of all, he was a very good friend. I show miss him and are very deep conversations that we always had.
Sorry to hear of Joe's passing. We meet years ago as fellow teachers at STHS and hung out a bit then, golfing or doing things with our wives. He was so clever and always fun to be around. I'm just sorry our paths didn't cross more often as we got older.dan & jan tutko
My heart goes out to Mr. Straka's family — I still can't call him Joe as he was my high school drama teacher and theater director. He was always one of my all-time favorites. He went the extra mile and then some! I learned so much from him and will never forget him. I still have a book he gave me with his handwritten inscription. I wish you solace. Kitty BarnettSTHS Class of '77
