Anita Strauss Obituary

Anita Lorelle Strauss
April 2, 1932 - May 8, 2022
La Jolla Anita L. Strauss, a real estate professional and beloved mother of 4, passed away peacefully on May 8, 2022 in her home in La Jolla, California. She was 90 years old.
Anita was born in Wichita, Kansas, the daughter of Clara and Oscar Wuertz. Anita graduated from North Central College in Naperville, Illinois in 1954, a college attended by many of her family members before her. In 1958, she moved to Denver, Colorado to attend graduate school and worked for the Social Security Administration. She met her belated husband, Paul Strauss, while he was in Denver completing his medical residency.
In 1964, Anita moved with her husband and young son Brian to San Diego, where Dr. Strauss had accepted a job in the psychiatric field. The sunny climate of San Diego was the deciding factor for Anita and her husband's move to the West Coast.
Over the years, Anita's untiring energy led her in many directions. She formed a real estate company with her husband and played a key role in the growth of their real estate portfolio. She was also the proud co-owner of a local preschool, Fleur De Lis School.
Anita was very involved in the lives of her 4 children. She spent countless hours at the baseball and softball fields in La Jolla, managing her children's teams and cheering them on from the dug-out. For many years, she led a troop of Camp Fire Girls and Boys for her daughter Kathleen and schoolmates and went on to serve on the regional Camp Fire Board. Later, she became a devoted grandmother, making play-doh, assembling puzzles, and taking her 7 grandchildren for ice cream.
Most importantly, Anita was always present for her family and friends and played a central role in their lives. She was a wonderful listener and made each person who had the honor of knowing her feel special and loved. She was told by many family friends that she was the mother they always wished they had. Even though Anita's progressive heart failure caused her to slow down in her later years, she used her limited energies to make sure that every person who crossed the threshold of her home felt safe and loved.
Anita also cared deeply about civil liberties, reproductive rights, and the environment. She was a proud supporter of Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, ACLU, KPBS, the Zoological Society of San Diego, and many other organizations devoted to caring for others. For fun, Anita enjoyed gardening as well as feeding and watching the hummingbirds and orioles that visited her beautiful garden.
Anita's family is very appreciative of the fantastic care that she received from Dr. Nina Bondade and her team at Scripps Advanced Care Clinic.
Anita is survived by four adult children who live in San Diego: Brian Strauss, Kathleen Strauss (Scott Hawes), Diana Strauss Casey and Randy Strauss (Paige Seeger Strauss), seven grandchildren (Julia, Ashley, Isabella, Courtney, Eliza, John and Hannah), nieces Sasha Kaufman and Beatrice Kaufman of Seattle, Washington, Carolyn Ellsworth of West Plains, MO, Cathy Bookout of St. James, MO and nephew Jim Kaufman of Cambridge, U.K, as well as her "adopted" children Brayden Hawk, Don Clauson, and Raquel Keolanui. She was predeceased by her husband Paul who passed away in 2017 as well as her sister, Shirley Huff.
A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, August 6 at 3 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Hillcrest, California.

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