Father of 11 was mentor, friend

Henry Fonda may have played the father in the 1968 movie, "Yours, Mine and Ours," but he had nothing on James P. Sirbas, who knew all about blending two large families into one extended brood. He lived it in real life.

Mr. Sirbas was a widower with five children when he married Pat Roe in 1973, who had four children. Together their combined family included children from 14 to 4, and that was before they adopted two more, making a total of 11 children in all.

"It was incredible and chaotic, but always fun," says one of their three sons, Chris Roe of Carpentersville.

Now, family members are mourning their loss. Mr. Sirbas passed away Friday from complications resulting from Parkinson's Disease. The former Hoffman Estates resident, most recently of Schaumburg, was 74.

Mr. Sirbas worked most of his career as a truck driver with a company based on Chicago's South side, while coaching Pop Warner football at Chicago's River Park.

"He touched the lives of thousands of children during his 12-year involvement," says Jackie Marolda of Chicago, a former cheerleader in the program. "He served as a football coach, mentor, and friend."

The family moved to Hoffman Estates in 1987, and within two years Mr. Sirbas began a new limousine business he called Champagne Limousine.

"I still remember the day we bought our first limo," says his wife, Pat. "It was a Cadillac stretch limousine, that was burgundy."

They eventually painted it white to accommodate the number of weddings the business drew. Before long they added three more limousines, this time Lincolns, to the fleet, to keep pace with the steady airport transportation they provided for Northwest suburban executives.

Mr. Sirbas brought on his three sons to help him field the growing number of calls. While he and his sons Chris and Curt drove customers, his oldest son, Craig, served as manager and dispatcher.

"My dad had a very loyal clientele," Craig Roe says. "He loved to talk, and he was very easy going and considerate."

Some of his customers included celebrities, like former NFL football players Bernie Kosar of the Cleveland Browns and Jim Kelly of the Buffalo Bills, and even movie star Mickey Rooney.

In more recent years, Mr. Sirbas shared many of his stories with his fellow residents at Lexington Health Care Center in Schaumburg.

Besides his wife and sons, Mr. Sirbas is survived by: Bessie (Victor) Lopez, Cindy (Rick) Szukala, Samantha Sirbas, Jami Duffy, Loretta (Jim) Kraft, Colleen (Robert) Hoefler, Cassandra (John) Napier, and the late Maria.

Visitation for Mr. Sirbas is 3-9 p.m. today at Salerno's Rosedale Chapels, 450 W. Lake St. in Roselle, before the 11 a.m. funeral on Thursday at St. Athanasios Greek Orthodox Church, 1855 E. 5th Ave. in Aurora.