Waterloo Region Generations
A record of the people of Waterloo Region, Ontario.

Eddie Straub

Male 1954 - 2017  (63 years)


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  • Name Eddie Straub 
    Born 4 Apr 1954 
    Gender Male 
    Eby ID Number Waterloo-32873 
    Died 2 Aug 2017  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I32873  Generations
    Last Modified 26 Feb 2024 

  • Notes 
    • LIFETIMES: Eddie Straub is being remembered as a much loved character in downtown Kitchener
      Edward (Eddie) Straub of KitchenerBorn: April 4, 1954 Died: Aug. 2, 2017 of a long-term illness


      KITCHENER - Eddie Straub was what you'd call a fixture in downtown Kitchener, a real character and the kind of unkempt street person that most would just pass by without notice. But Eddie, for those who knew him, was not a man without substance. In fact, he contributed to his beloved downtown in ways that most people didn't know about.

      In a 1998 Record article, Eddie was happily chatting to a reporter after chowing down on his third plate of turkey at Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate's community Christmas dinner. The normally lean, bearded character was hoping to fatten up so he could play the seasonal role of Santa Claus.

      For Eddie, it seemed he was always eager to make kids happy and at the high school, he had been deeply impressed with what the teens had created for people like him, people without a lot of options in life.

      "See how great these kids are?" Eddie told the reporter.

      Eddie considered himself something of a connoisseur of community Christmas dinners and he never missed an opportunity to join in. When asked where he was headed following the high school event, Eddie matter-of-factly replied "The Salvation Army, they make a good supper."

      Sara Escobar knew Eddie in her role as a street outreach worker for the Working Centre in downtown Kitchener. Sara and her colleagues got to know the man they saw daily, but nothing about where he came from, personal history or family ties. Whatever traumas Eddie had suffered in his early life, he kept to himself and he died a mystery.

      "We knew very little about Eddie," said Sara. "What we know is through hearing stories his friends told us."

      The man she knew was definitely an enigma, highly social yet shy and a loner. None of this is to say that he wasn't engaged in his community because Eddie was the sort of guy who talked to everyone.

      Several years ago, in the early days of the Working Centre and Kitchener Downtown Business Association's Outreach Project, Eddie was one of the first street sweepers whose job was also to act as a downtown ambassador.

      "He definitely enjoyed life," Sara said, referring to his preference for living "a freelancer's life" meaning Eddie refused to follow social norms.

      "He didn't want anything to do with the system," she said. "He wanted to be alone."

      That desire for complete autonomy started to run off the skids as Eddie grew older and required outside help from organizations such as the Working Centre. Their mandate is to offer only the help that their clients ask for: day-to-day chores such as transportation to medical appointments, court, buying groceries or even finding housing.

      This seemed to suit Eddie, he was still in control of his life but he had support.

      "In the past, he'd been very cautious, very shy," she said.

      One area of his life that never changed was Eddie's love of walking, from Kitchener to Waterloo and often straight on to Elmira, more than 20 kilometres one way. Sara said she and the other outreach workers regularly saw Eddie on his long distance hikes, making his way down the road with his trademark shuffle.

      "He'd start walking and just keep on going," she said.

      The result of all this walking was that Eddie became a known entity to businesses all up and down King Street.

      "Uptown Waterloo business owners were kind to him," said Sara. "You're coming in and out of a business and there he is.

      "He was really kind and had a big smile and he really did remember people."

      Sara hadn't known Eddie that long, but it seemed he occasionally surprised her, like when he shared stories of his Santa Claus days, even bellowing that trademark "Ho ho ho" laugh.

      "That Santa laugh was so deep and he was such a petite guy," she said, noting that if Eddie was in a bad mood, his workers knew how to trigger happier emotions.

      "Ask him about Santa and his mood would improve," she said. "He'd tell us about the kids."

      Though Sara wasn't comfortable talking about Eddie's health issues or why he'd been on long-term disability, she did say that life on the streets for anyone is tough and generally means a shorter lifespan. At 63, Eddie was already a couple of decades beyond life expectancy.

      "This was sudden," she said of Eddie's death last month in his home. "It's one of the realities we face working with folks living this life, with many complications.

      "Premature death is a reality."

      Eddie had intermittent times living on the streets, but in the past five or six years, he was safe and cared for in a social housing complex.

      "He struggled but he was still this wonderful guy," said Sara. "We saw this wonderful person that he was."

      vhill@therecord.com

      Hill, V. (2017). LIFETIMES: Eddie Straub is being remembered as a much loved character in downtown Kitchener | TheRecord.com. TheRecord.com. Retrieved 17 September 2017, from https://www.therecord.com/news-story/7560617-lifetimes-eddie-straub-is-being-remembered-as-a-much-loved-character-in-downtown-kitchener/

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsDied - 2 Aug 2017 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
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