Strelsa Schreiber

Strelsa Wade Schreiber, 92, who served on education boards in two states and wrote a memoir of early Port St. Lucie, died Saturday in Grand Rapids, Mich., after a long illness.

She was on the Indian River Community College Foundation board of directors for 22 years and that college honored her by naming the Strelsa Schreiber Conference Center on its Port St. Lucie Campus.

Born July 30, 1915, in Ironton, Ohio, she grew up in Portsmouth, Ohio and attended Fenn College, now Cleveland State University.

She also was the first woman appointed to the school board in Livonia, Mich., and was a member of the Michigan Association of School Boards. A building was named in her honor at Churchill High School.

She and her late husband, Joe Schreiber, retired to Port St. Lucie where she quickly became involved in community activities.

She served as manager of the Port St. Lucie Community Center and was active in the League of Women Voters, the Port St. Lucie Business Women, Democratic Women's Club and a hospital auxiliary for Port St. Lucie Medical Center.

Her book The Early Years of Port St. Lucie, Florida: A Personal Memoir recalled the early days of the community founded by General Development Corp. which has grown into a booming city.

Schreiber moved back to Michigan to live with daughter Paula Gaylord and family after the hurricanes of 2004 took her house and most of her possessions.

Survivors in addition to Paula Gaylord include sons Jay Schreiber and Dan Schreiber, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A funeral will be 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Luke's Lutheran Church under the direction of Metcalf & Johkhoff Funeral Service, Grand Rapids, Mich.