Obituary for Shirley Strauss
Long before social media, Shirley Strauss was an extremely social “influencer.” She not only was a great influence on her family but also on countless friends and on her beloved synagogue, where she helped plan events and often arranged seating into her 90s. A confident public speaker unafraid to state her opinions, she also didn’t fear or shy away from modern technology. To the end, she enjoyed nearly 300 Facebook friends.
“She had a wonderful life for the time she grew up in, marrying at 19,” said daughter Bonnie Strauss Carroll, a retired international businesswoman. “She was so bright and organized. If she had the opportunities I had, I think my mother would have become CEO of a company.”
She died in a hospital early Monday at 96, just days after becoming ill. “She maintained her toughness, sweetness, smarts and intuition to the end,” said grandson Eric M. Strauss, ABC News executive producer in charge of medical news. “In her final days, she had lots of loving visits with family and friends.”
The only child of a Russian immigrant father (who lived to 98) and a mother who grew up on Long Island, Shirley Pinchuck was born in Brooklyn on Nov. 9, 1926. Her father was a clothes-cutter who opened his own store, but lost it in the Great Depression. Her parents, meanwhile, adored her and doted on her as a child.
In her late teens, she met medical student Carl Strauss, and they married in 1946. The couple welcomed babies Elton in 1948 and Bonnie in 1952. Dr. Strauss long ran a “womb to tomb” family medical practice in the Bensonhurst neighborhood and delivered about 5,000 infants.
“Our mother ran her home meticulously,” said Bonnie. “She made sure we did everything, from Hebrew school to dancing school to baseball. She also played the piano and arranged for us to take lessons during out childhood. She was a den mother and was PTA president of every school we attended.”
The Strausses encouraged their children into adulthood, with Bonnie becoming a corporate bond broker, including for four years in London. Elton followed his father as a physician and became a renowned orthopedic surgeon at Mount Sinai Hospital, known for taking some of the hardest cases. He followed his mother as a self-assured speaker.
Elton married a musician, Karen, a concert harpist who has recorded and performed internationally. “On one early visit to Shirley and Carl’s house, I was surprised by them searching out and renting a harp for me to practice on the week I stayed with them,” said Karen.
Elton and Karen raised their son, Eric, and daughter Elisa, a celebrated cake designer seen on national television and with her own Confetti Cakes cookbooks and cake kits. On Instagram, she paid tribute to her grandma.
“Sharper than any of us, she was always ahead of her time,” Elisa Strauss Ricks wrote. “She loved her family and friends fiercely and wasn’t afraid to tell you exactly what was on her mind. . . She instructed me to always say thank you and ‘Always give more cake than people ask for.’ “
Eric said he learned in childhood that, “Grandma was super-intuitive, and could read a situation like no other. It was impossible to fib to her and get away with it.”
Shirley Strauss was adept at thinking on her feet, as she did when appearing undercover in a 2001 ABC Prime Time investigation of some antique shops that took advantage of customers. She was wired up with a hidden camera.
“She was supposed to be the patsy,” Eric said. “But when she got inside the antique shops, she started to ad lib – pointing out labels, asking questions and putting the sellers on the record not being forthcoming. Instead of being a supporting character, Grandma Strauss became the main player.”
She was a stylish dresser and an avid watcher of the New York ABC affiliate as well as the network’s World News Tonight. In January, 2021, she appeared in video as one of the first people to receive the Covid vaccine in New York. “She really took care of herself,” Eric said, “and never became ill with Covid.”
Shirley and Dr. Carl Strauss were married for 67 years until his death in 2013. In 2017, their son, Dr. Elton Strauss, died from cancer at 69.
“A part of her died when we lost my dad,” Elisa said. “So I can honestly say she’s now at peace.”
Her survivors include Eric’s wife, Bridget Kelly; Elisa’s husband, Marc Ricks; Bonnie’s stepdaughter, Melanie Morrice and husband Peter; great-grandchildren Joshua and Benjamin Strauss; Sophie, Margot and Caleb Ricks; and Ryan and Gavin Morrice. Also remembered are Bonnie’s late husband, Kevin Carroll, and her late stepson, K.J. Carroll.
Shirley Strauss, lovingly known to grandchildren and great-grandchildren as “Bubbe,” died 10 years and one day after her husband. She had hoped to reach 100, and grandkids planned to present her with 100 gold balloons. She loved checking up on people through Facebook and on the phone, enjoying their successes and encouraging them through their trials. She sent loved ones birthday cards and followed up to make sure they were received.
Grandson Eric said she wasn’t ready to say good-bye because, as she put it, “I still have so much to look forward to.” But as the end approached, he said, “She also made me promise to visit her gravesite frequently. Classic Bubbe!”
A service will be held Thursday, August 10th at 11am, at Sherman’s Flatbush Memorial Chapel 1283 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
The memorial can be viewed online here: https://www.hdezwebcast.com/show/shirley-strauss
Donations can be made to: East Midwood Jewish Center, Turning Point, or Mount Sinai SAVI
Written by Mike Kelly, a retired columnist from the Omaha World-Herald and father of Eric Strauss’s wife, Bridget.
“She had a wonderful life for the time she grew up in, marrying at 19,” said daughter Bonnie Strauss Carroll, a retired international businesswoman. “She was so bright and organized. If she had the opportunities I had, I think my mother would have become CEO of a company.”
She died in a hospital early Monday at 96, just days after becoming ill. “She maintained her toughness, sweetness, smarts and intuition to the end,” said grandson Eric M. Strauss, ABC News executive producer in charge of medical news. “In her final days, she had lots of loving visits with family and friends.”
The only child of a Russian immigrant father (who lived to 98) and a mother who grew up on Long Island, Shirley Pinchuck was born in Brooklyn on Nov. 9, 1926. Her father was a clothes-cutter who opened his own store, but lost it in the Great Depression. Her parents, meanwhile, adored her and doted on her as a child.
In her late teens, she met medical student Carl Strauss, and they married in 1946. The couple welcomed babies Elton in 1948 and Bonnie in 1952. Dr. Strauss long ran a “womb to tomb” family medical practice in the Bensonhurst neighborhood and delivered about 5,000 infants.
“Our mother ran her home meticulously,” said Bonnie. “She made sure we did everything, from Hebrew school to dancing school to baseball. She also played the piano and arranged for us to take lessons during out childhood. She was a den mother and was PTA president of every school we attended.”
The Strausses encouraged their children into adulthood, with Bonnie becoming a corporate bond broker, including for four years in London. Elton followed his father as a physician and became a renowned orthopedic surgeon at Mount Sinai Hospital, known for taking some of the hardest cases. He followed his mother as a self-assured speaker.
Elton married a musician, Karen, a concert harpist who has recorded and performed internationally. “On one early visit to Shirley and Carl’s house, I was surprised by them searching out and renting a harp for me to practice on the week I stayed with them,” said Karen.
Elton and Karen raised their son, Eric, and daughter Elisa, a celebrated cake designer seen on national television and with her own Confetti Cakes cookbooks and cake kits. On Instagram, she paid tribute to her grandma.
“Sharper than any of us, she was always ahead of her time,” Elisa Strauss Ricks wrote. “She loved her family and friends fiercely and wasn’t afraid to tell you exactly what was on her mind. . . She instructed me to always say thank you and ‘Always give more cake than people ask for.’ “
Eric said he learned in childhood that, “Grandma was super-intuitive, and could read a situation like no other. It was impossible to fib to her and get away with it.”
Shirley Strauss was adept at thinking on her feet, as she did when appearing undercover in a 2001 ABC Prime Time investigation of some antique shops that took advantage of customers. She was wired up with a hidden camera.
“She was supposed to be the patsy,” Eric said. “But when she got inside the antique shops, she started to ad lib – pointing out labels, asking questions and putting the sellers on the record not being forthcoming. Instead of being a supporting character, Grandma Strauss became the main player.”
She was a stylish dresser and an avid watcher of the New York ABC affiliate as well as the network’s World News Tonight. In January, 2021, she appeared in video as one of the first people to receive the Covid vaccine in New York. “She really took care of herself,” Eric said, “and never became ill with Covid.”
Shirley and Dr. Carl Strauss were married for 67 years until his death in 2013. In 2017, their son, Dr. Elton Strauss, died from cancer at 69.
“A part of her died when we lost my dad,” Elisa said. “So I can honestly say she’s now at peace.”
Her survivors include Eric’s wife, Bridget Kelly; Elisa’s husband, Marc Ricks; Bonnie’s stepdaughter, Melanie Morrice and husband Peter; great-grandchildren Joshua and Benjamin Strauss; Sophie, Margot and Caleb Ricks; and Ryan and Gavin Morrice. Also remembered are Bonnie’s late husband, Kevin Carroll, and her late stepson, K.J. Carroll.
Shirley Strauss, lovingly known to grandchildren and great-grandchildren as “Bubbe,” died 10 years and one day after her husband. She had hoped to reach 100, and grandkids planned to present her with 100 gold balloons. She loved checking up on people through Facebook and on the phone, enjoying their successes and encouraging them through their trials. She sent loved ones birthday cards and followed up to make sure they were received.
Grandson Eric said she wasn’t ready to say good-bye because, as she put it, “I still have so much to look forward to.” But as the end approached, he said, “She also made me promise to visit her gravesite frequently. Classic Bubbe!”
A service will be held Thursday, August 10th at 11am, at Sherman’s Flatbush Memorial Chapel 1283 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
The memorial can be viewed online here: https://www.hdezwebcast.com/show/shirley-strauss
Donations can be made to: East Midwood Jewish Center, Turning Point, or Mount Sinai SAVI
Written by Mike Kelly, a retired columnist from the Omaha World-Herald and father of Eric Strauss’s wife, Bridget.