Obituary of Amy Striebel Kalas

Amy Elizabeth Striebel Kalas, 47, of West Hills, California passed away on December 9, 2016 at West Hills Community Hospital. Amy was born on May 2, 1969 in Kokomo, Indiana as the eldest child of Joellen and Kenneth “Joe” Striebel. She was a 1987 graduate of Northwestern High School in Howard County, Indiana. After graduating from high school, Amy pursued her lifelong love of music and a fascination with the entertainment industry by traveling to California where she studied at the College of the Recording Arts in San Francisco. Several years after graduating, Amy moved to Los Angeles and took a position with Dick Clark Productions and later the Dick Clark Company. During her over 25-year career with those companies Amy fulfilled her childhood dreams by working with some of the biggest names in music and entertainment on the productions of the Golden Globe Awards, American Music Awards, and New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and developed a deep friendship with Dick and Kari Clark who became like a second family to her. Although Amy moved to California after high school, she always thought of herself as a Hoosier and never lost her love for Indiana sports. She remained an avid Colts, Pacers, and Purdue fan. She would text her fellow fans on game days and flew back to Indiana annually to attend Pacer games. Those who were blessed to know Amy during her all too short time on earth knew her as a fun-loving and caring person with a great passion for life and seemingly limitless compassion for others. With Amy, even the most boring and mundane event became a party. In spite of life-long health issues that caused her to suffer increasingly in recent years, Amy chose to hide her pain and suffering and focus her energies on caring for others. Whether it was a sick relative, a friend experiencing emotional pain, or just a person or animal that she happened across in life that seemed in need, Amy always thought first of others. She gave of herself until there was no more left to give. Surviving Amy is the love of her life and husband, Brad Kalas, parents Joellen and Kenneth “Joe” Striebel, brother Matthew (Linda) Striebel and beloved nephews Mason and Hunter, uncles Steve (Judi) and Michael (Elizabeth) Striebel, aunts Nancy (Jim) Dishinger and Susan French, and their families, dear friends Tammy Mukoyama, Kimberly Lipps, Mary Ann Collins, and many other much-loved friends from throughout the country too numerous to name here. A memorial service followed by a celebration of Amy’s life will be held on Saturday, January 21 at 6:00 p.m. at the chapel at the Ritz-Charles at 12156 N. Meridian Street, Carmel, Indiana. Services in California in honor of Amy will be held at a time and place to be determined. The Rose Family Funeral Home in Simi Valley, California will be coordinating the West Coast services. Updates on the details of the California services as well as the opportunity to leave stories and reflections on Amy can be found at www.rosefamilyfuneralhome.com . Donations may be made in honor of Amy to either the Lupus Foundation of America or the Humane Society of California. Amy’s time with us was all too brief, but the impact she had on the many who loved her will linger on long after her passing.