On February 2, 2019 Larry Treiber left this life at the age of 80. And what a life it was! Being raised on a farm in a small town in South Dakota prepared him early on to be resourceful with a wide independent streak that never left him. He left home at an early age to enlist in the Air Force. Shortly after basic training he spied a pretty girl named Gail on the streets of San Francisco who was there on a day trip and he followed her home on the bus. She later agreed to marry him and they spent 62 memorable years together.
Larry spent 20 years in the Air Force including stints in Strategic Air Command where he used his excellent depth perception to score a job as a boom operator (inflight refueling). He also developed a pretty mean golf game, earned his Bachelor’s degree, and traveled the world with Gail.
Upon retirement from the service they moved to Florida where the plan was to assume his Fathers small drapery installation business, work part time and play a lot of golf. That plan went awry when he saw an opportunity to begin a small window treatment manufacturing business in 1980 and Vista Products was born. Turns out he was a pure entrepreneur in the true sense of the word and was never afraid to take a risk. Growth came quickly and the company grew with the help of family members, and employees that were like family, into a multi-state operation with inclusion in the 1986 roster of Inc magazine’s fastest growing companies. He also earned his pilot’s license and would be wheels up every chance he had.
In 2000 he decided to retire again and walked away from Vista more easily than anyone would have thought. He was on to new interests with a summer home in Idaho, a collection of old cars, a plan to build a plane from a kit and a huge garden that took him back to his farming roots. He loved it all and cultivated the best yard in town where summer evenings were spent with a stiff drink and cigar enjoying his domain. Winters were spent golfing at The Villages in Florida or living it up on a Princess Cruise.
Larry left behind his devoted wife Gail and daughters Carmen Singer (husband Jim) and Kristi Calleja (husband Ken) and three grandsons, Ryan and Casey Singer and Gabe Calleja along with brothers George, David and Grant and sister Lila Vandecarr. He was pre-deceased by his parents Elmer and Gladys Treiber and sister Elizabeth Haufle. He also left behind a legion of golfing buddies and friends in the window treatment industry that will always remember his hearty laugh, outsized ego, and generally glass half-full outlook on life.
Friends and family are invited to join a celebration of his life which will be held on Monday, February 11th at Hardage-Giddens Chapel Hills Funeral Home, 850 St. Johns Bluff Rd N, Jacksonville, FL with a visitation at 10am and service at 11am. A light lunch reception will follow with interment at 2pm in the Jacksonville National Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made in his name to Angel Flight Southeast. This is a collection of private pilots that use their planes, time and money to help transport sick patients and family for treatment that is far from home. Larry made a number of these flights during his flying years.
Mercy Flight Southeast
8864 Airport Blvd,Leesburg International Airport, Leesburg, FL 34788
HARDAGE-GIDDENS CHAPEL HILLS, 850 Saint Johns Bluff Road North, Jacksonville, FL 32225, is serving the family.
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