Richard J. Garber

With great sadness we announce the passing of our dear father Richard “Dick” Garber of Upper St. Clair, who died on his 94th birthday, December 30, 2024, surrounded by his children. He is preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Charlene (Higgins) Garber, his brother, Harry Garber and sister, Ann McKinney, and his cherished wife of 65 years, Jean (Nyberg) Garber, who passed in 2018. Dick is survived by his three children and their spouses Kevin and Sue (Weiland) Garber, Kelly (Garber) and David Overstreet, and Krista (Garber) and Anthony Pryor; six grandchildren, Sarah (Garber) Miller and her husband Michael Miller, John Garber and his wife Dana (Del Signore) Garber, Emily Overstreet and her husband Nolan Taormino, Caroline (Pryor) Lang and her husband Paul Lang, Katharine Pryor and her fiancé Daniel Graziano, and Laura Pryor); and six great-grandchildren, Allie and Luke Miller, Brady and Abby Garber, and Dominic and Joseph Lang. 

Dick was blessed with an idyllic childhood in small town America (Chicora, Butler County, Pennsylvania) during the 1930s and 40s, growing up among close friends and neighbors with large, affectionate families. He was a standout basketball player in high school, joined the U.S. Air Force with three hometown buddies after graduation, and spent four years in England during the Korean War operating radar with a medium bomber wing. 

After service, Dick took his undergraduate and masters degrees in education from Penn State on the G.I. Bill while starting a family and eventually moved to Pittsburgh to work as a guidance counselor in the Upper St. Clair school district. He left education for advertising in the late 1960s and ultimately became the president of the Pittsburgh office of the advertising firm Vic Maitland & Associates. The Pittsburgh Poison Center, then an affiliate of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, was one of Dick’s clients. Working with pediatrician Richard Moriarty, Dick created the Mr. Yuk symbol in 1971 to educate children and adults about poison prevention. Dick was instrumental in efforts to develop the Mr. Yuk symbol, a highly successful poison education program, and a national poison center network throughout the United States and internationally. The symbol sometimes has been called the first emoji. 

Dick and Jean enjoyed a full life together. They traveled extensively in Europe with friends, owned and operated an antique store, bought a boat, and drove a Triumph sports car throughout New England. Their greatest love was their family and their Catholic faith, which they placed above all else. His greatest love was his Jean, his high school sweetheart. They stood side by side for 65 years and instilled the enduring virtues of faith and family in all of us. 

Dad, rest in peace in eternity with the Lord, with Mom, and your family ---- we will love and miss you forever. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11AM at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, St. Michael the Archangel Parish, 310 Kane Blvd., Scott Township on Friday, January 10, 2025. A gathering at the church beginning at 10:15 AM will precede the Mass. Arrangements entrusted to WILLIAM SLATER II FUNERAL SERVICE, Scott Twp., 412-563-2800.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Our Lady of Grace Church.

www.slaterfuneral.com