Paul Streib was a Presbyterian minister and missionary together with his wife. In 1935 the couple was accepted by the Evangelical Union of South America as missionaries to Brazil. As their family grew they returned home, and were working with the Missionary Training Institute at Nyack, New York, when in 1948, they lost all their possessions in a devastating apartment fire. Undeterred, they continued to rebuild and were called to South Dakota where Streib was installed as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at Kadoka, with additional parishes at Belvidere and Stamford. In 1951 Streib, an Army Reserve chaplain, was called to active duty and was subsequently deployed to Korea in 1952 where he was awarded a Silver Star for his gallantry in action. After his war service he returned to his parishes in South Dakota to continue in civilian ministry.