Kim Francis Straub

Kim Francis Straub, 66, of Temple Terrace, Florida, grew her angel wings in divine timing on August 7, 2020 at 2:22 pm surrounded by her family.

She was born in Dover, Ohio on February 22, 1954. Her parents began to recognize her artistic talents at a young age when she described the colors she saw on their black and white television. She began art lessons at age 9, and her talents blossomed under the tutelage of Mrs. Llewellyn, art teacher at NPHS. The murals she created graced the third floor study hall for 18 years at NPHS until destroyed by the fire in 1990. Upon graduation in 1972 she earned a full scholarship to Columbus College of Art and Design. She completed her degree in 1976 with a BFA in Advertising and Illustration and she was one of three seniors chosen to present her portfolio at graduation.

After several entry level jobs at a variety of magazines and agencies, she found her true calling in publishing at McGraw Hill in Columbus in 1981. In 1992 she was recruited by Holt, Rinehart & Winston and moved to Austin, Texas where she served as Director of Operations, Director of Advertising and Operations, and Vice President until 2002. Her innovations in elementary textbooks were considered legendary.

She served as Director of Fundraising for Youth Interactive in Austin where she developed fundraising initiatives and art based activities for events from 2002 to 2004. As Director of Marketing for ILearning Gateway from 2007-2010, she did metrics-based event planning for national conventions.

She and her family moved to Temple Terrace, Florida upon retirement in 2010. She served as Vice President of Marketing and Special Projects on the Temple Terrace Arts Council, whose mission was to bring arts and culture to the community and beyond. Yearly events that benefitted from her touch included Art en Blanc, and the annual Temple Terrace Arts & Crafts Festival as well as Touch-a-Truck, Spring Market, National Night Out, Terrace Reads, and more.

She returned to her roots of mural art as she spearheaded a project: writing a grant and winning public approval for the creation of murals at intersections around Temple Terrace. Recruiting underrepresented artists to create the designs and volunteers to help with painting, Temple Terrace was transformed with outdoor art. She volunteered at El Greco Middle School where she and others painted outside murals as well as inside the school restrooms. Under her tutelage, middle school students won first place at the Florida State Fair by creating art from recycled materials. She also offered outside art activities for children afterschool and at weekend fairs. In recognition of all of these volunteer efforts, she was selected as the Greater Temple Terrace Chamber of Commerce’s Citizen of the Year in 2018.

Preceding her in death were her brother, Mark, and her parents, Jeanne and Glenn Francis. Left to cherish her memory are her husband, John Straub, of Temple Terrace, children Brooke and Bert Straub of Tampa, as well as her sister, Dr. Cynthia Reynolds (Sam) of Clinton, Ohio. She is also survived by numerous beloved cousins, nieces, and nephews, as well as many members of the Tampa art community.

The pictures of art and nature texted to her as she faced her illness alone at Moffitt Cancer Center provided much comfort. She will be remembered by many for her wit, wisdom, generosity, creativity, but most of all, for her love of art.