Leah 'Joan' Streebin

Leah “Joan” McCalla Streebin, age 84, died on Thursday, March 5, 2020, in Norman after a long battle with Parkinson’s.  Joan was born on January 22, 1936, to Willis David and Nola Grace Older McCalla, at home on the family farm in Blockton, Iowa.  She attended grammar school in a one-room schoolhouse and later graduated from Blockton High School in 1954.  She married Leale Elston Streebin on December 22, 1956, and they were happily married for over 52 years.  They moved to San Francisco, where Leale was a surveyor in the U.S. Army, and their first child, Perry, was born.  After his term in the Army, the family returned to Ames, Iowa, where Leale received his Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering and Environmental Science and their second child, Jenny, was born.  Leale and Joan moved to Iowa City, Iowa, where Leale worked at Powers and Associates, a Civil Engineering firm.  After two years, the family moved to Corvallis, Oregon, where Leale received his Masters of Science and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering and Environmental Science.  While in Oregon, Dan, their third child, was born.  In the fall of 1966, the family moved to Norman, Oklahoma, where Leale took a position as a professor in the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science at the University of Oklahoma, and their fourth child, Beth, was born.  During most of this time, Joan was a stay home mother and wife.  Joan loved spending time working in her home.  She liked her flowers and loved to watch the birds in her backyard.  She loved spending time with her family and grandchildren.  She enjoyed watching cooking shows and cooking for others.  She quietly supported her family behind the scenes teaching Sunday school at Bethel Baptist Church, baking cookies for church and school events, and fostering children who needed a loving home.  In addition to being a long time member of Bethel Baptist Church in Norman, Joan was a member of the Gideons International Auxiliary.  In 1977, Joan returned to school at the Moore Norman Votech and earned a degree as an LPN.  She then worked at Norman Regional Hospital for ten years before retiring to travel with Leale.  In 1998, Leale had a stroke, and Joan spent the next twelve years dedicating her life to taking care of him.  Leale passed away on October 23, 2009.

Joan is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Perry and Kristi Streebin of Norman; her daughter, Jenny Stanciu of Norman; her son, Dan Streebin of Moore, OK; her daughter and son-in-law, Beth and Randy York of Norman; her brother and sister-in-law, David and Beverly McCalla of Wichita, KS; her sister-in-law, Carol Streebin of Blockton, IA; her sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Dorla and Bus Hullinger of Germanstown, PA; eleven grandchildren and their spouses, Adam and Christa Streebin, Jarrett Streebin, Sarah and John Eichman, Alyssa and JJ Hamon, Savannah and Layne Peterson, Ethan and Lauren York, Shawnee Streebin, Jessica Stanciu, Joshua Stanciu, Kayleah and Ty Howell, and Nathan York; six great-grandchildren, Jonathan, Paul, Ryan, Carlisle, Mena, and Connor; and many others nieces, nephews, and friends whose lives she touched.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her sister, Donna Addington; her brother, Eugene McCalla and his wife Francis; her brother-in-law, Lyndell Streebin; and her sister-in-law, Karen Larrison.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, March 9, 2020, at Havenbrook Funeral Home in Norman.  The family will receive friends two hours prior to the service.  Interment will follow at Norman I.O.O.F. Cemetery.

Joan requested that memorial contributions be made to the Norman Camp of Gideons International, P.O. Box 5111, Norman, OK 73070.