Banker, leading area philanthropist dies at 77

In high school in the late 1950s, David Straz held a job sweeping floors of a local bank in his native Milwaukee. Some 30 years later, after a building a bank that had more than 20 branches and $400 million in assets across Wisconsin, Straz became chairman of a holding company that owned the bank where he once swept floors.

Going full circle like that was just the beginning for Straz. He moved his primary residence to Tampa in 1980. He then went on a four-decade quest to give back to the city and region, which led the way on a myriad philanthropic causes with a focus in arts, conservation and education. Most notably is the Straz Center for Performing Arts, the downtown Tampa theater that bears his name. Straz also ran an unsuccessful Tampa mayoral campaign earlier this year, losing to Jane Castor.