Richard “Dick” Garber, a fourth-generation newspaperman, was publisher and editor of The (Osceola) Sun from 1965 to 1977. Before coming to Wisconsin, Garber and his wife, Grace, settled in his native Washington after World War II. There, he worked with his father at the local newspaper, The Beachcomber. In 1954, the family moved to Alaska, where he worked at the Anchorage Daily Times. Dick was fond of saying that when he moved to Alaska, he took his wife and his watch and he hoped they would both work.
In 1965, the Garbers moved to Osceola where they realized their dream of owning and operating their own newspaper and print shop. They later moved to Florida, where Dick kept busy with his church, the homeowners’ association and volunteer activities. His backyard work shed was packed, but neatly arranged, with things he wouldn’t throw away. If you were looking for a nail, screw, small piece of wood or something more obscure, he would say, “I think I might have that in stock.”
Dick died in Melbourne, Fla., on Nov. 23, 2014, at 95. He and his wife had two daughters and a son, eight grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
