SIMON STRAUSS, 92, Holocaust survivor and 50-year Houston resident
Simon Strauss – beloved father, grandfather, friend and Holocaust survivor – died Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010, in Seattle. He was 92.
Born in Wachenbuchen, Germany, on March 10, 1917, Strauss was one of three boys born to David and Jenny Strauss. David Strauss died of cancer when Simon was a boy, so Simon took on great responsibilities for his family. He graduated from high school at age 16, and began working for an English company that made leather goods, learning to speak the language on the job. He became the spokesman in Wachenbuchen for Youth Aliyah, a group formed in 1933 to send young Jews from Nazi Germany to what was then Palestine. To save his brother from the Nazis, Simon secured a spot on a boat to Palestine for his then 14-year-old brother, Lou. Strauss also assisted his older brother, Ernst, in marrying a woman from a nearby German town who already had made it to New York.
On Kristallnacht, Simon was rounded up and taken to Buchenwald concentration camp. At that time, Jews still could leave the camp if they could pay for travel out of the country. His mother procured a ticket to Shanghai, but ultimately he gained a visa to England via his former employer and made his way there. Upon arrival he was detained and was threatened with deportation, as the English were wary of all Germans. However, a member of the royal family, Lady Paget, picked him out of the line to work in the garden of her estate. After saving enough money for passage to America, armed with a much coveted visa gained by American relatives, he, like many of his time, made his way alone through Ellis Island to begin to forge a livelihood peddling goods. Fourteen months later, he was drafted into the Army where he ultimately was sent to Belgium and then into Germany and was one of the first American Jews to enter Frankfurt. It is there, while culling through the infamous German archives, that he discovered that his family likely had been deported and murdered in Eastern Russia. Only he, his brothers and a few cousins who had left Germany before the war would survive the Nazi regime.
Upon his return to New York City, he ultimately married his Red Cross pen pal, Miriam Silverman, and together they struck out for Texas. In Houston, Simon and Miriam raised a son and two daughters before Miriam’s death in 1961. He married the former Sylvia Polk Vane in 1964.
All told, he spent 50 years in Houston, operating various businesses and amassing countless friends, colleagues and loved ones. He never became wealthy or famous, but there are few men in Houston who were as well liked as he. An active member of Beth Yeshurun, he was a proud Jew and an ardent Zionist who passed on that passion for his faith to his children and grandchildren. He was a popular docent at the Holocaust Museum Houston for a decade, and donated family photographs now on display at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. He also was an active member of the Early Bird’s exercise group at the Houston Jewish Community Center.
In 2005, he moved to Seattle, enjoying the company of his children and grandchildren during his years at the Summit at First Hill and, finally, the Caroline Kline Galland Home.
Miriam Strauss; his second wife, Sylvia Polk Strauss; brother, Ernst; and son, Dean Vane, preceded him in death.
His many survivors consider themselves lucky to be inspired by his humor, his strength and his verve for life. They include his brother, Lou Strauss of New York; children, Gary Strauss and Nadine Strauss, both of Seattle; daughter and son-in-law Davida and Robert Bilgrad of Olney, Md,; son and daughter-in-law, Richard and Sue Vane of Houston, and their families; grandchildren Shane Strauss, Marika Strauss and Opai Adamson, Miriam and Julia Terlinchamp, Aaron Bilgrad, Mark and Sharyn Vane, and Jenn ifer and Evan Melrose; great-grandchildren, Eddie and Sam Vane and Madison Melrose; nephews, David Strauss, Ralph Strauss and their families, all of New York; and scores of friends and loved ones in Houston and Seattle.
He was in inspiration to many. He never would forget, but always was looking ahead with a positive outlook.
A funeral service was held Monday, Jan. 18, 2010, in Seattle.
Contributions in Simon Strauss’ memory may be made to the Holocaust Museum Houston, 5401 Caroline St., Houston, TX 77004.
Born in Wachenbuchen, Germany, on March 10, 1917, Strauss was one of three boys born to David and Jenny Strauss. David Strauss died of cancer when Simon was a boy, so Simon took on great responsibilities for his family. He graduated from high school at age 16, and began working for an English company that made leather goods, learning to speak the language on the job. He became the spokesman in Wachenbuchen for Youth Aliyah, a group formed in 1933 to send young Jews from Nazi Germany to what was then Palestine. To save his brother from the Nazis, Simon secured a spot on a boat to Palestine for his then 14-year-old brother, Lou. Strauss also assisted his older brother, Ernst, in marrying a woman from a nearby German town who already had made it to New York.
On Kristallnacht, Simon was rounded up and taken to Buchenwald concentration camp. At that time, Jews still could leave the camp if they could pay for travel out of the country. His mother procured a ticket to Shanghai, but ultimately he gained a visa to England via his former employer and made his way there. Upon arrival he was detained and was threatened with deportation, as the English were wary of all Germans. However, a member of the royal family, Lady Paget, picked him out of the line to work in the garden of her estate. After saving enough money for passage to America, armed with a much coveted visa gained by American relatives, he, like many of his time, made his way alone through Ellis Island to begin to forge a livelihood peddling goods. Fourteen months later, he was drafted into the Army where he ultimately was sent to Belgium and then into Germany and was one of the first American Jews to enter Frankfurt. It is there, while culling through the infamous German archives, that he discovered that his family likely had been deported and murdered in Eastern Russia. Only he, his brothers and a few cousins who had left Germany before the war would survive the Nazi regime.
Upon his return to New York City, he ultimately married his Red Cross pen pal, Miriam Silverman, and together they struck out for Texas. In Houston, Simon and Miriam raised a son and two daughters before Miriam’s death in 1961. He married the former Sylvia Polk Vane in 1964.
All told, he spent 50 years in Houston, operating various businesses and amassing countless friends, colleagues and loved ones. He never became wealthy or famous, but there are few men in Houston who were as well liked as he. An active member of Beth Yeshurun, he was a proud Jew and an ardent Zionist who passed on that passion for his faith to his children and grandchildren. He was a popular docent at the Holocaust Museum Houston for a decade, and donated family photographs now on display at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. He also was an active member of the Early Bird’s exercise group at the Houston Jewish Community Center.
In 2005, he moved to Seattle, enjoying the company of his children and grandchildren during his years at the Summit at First Hill and, finally, the Caroline Kline Galland Home.
Miriam Strauss; his second wife, Sylvia Polk Strauss; brother, Ernst; and son, Dean Vane, preceded him in death.
His many survivors consider themselves lucky to be inspired by his humor, his strength and his verve for life. They include his brother, Lou Strauss of New York; children, Gary Strauss and Nadine Strauss, both of Seattle; daughter and son-in-law Davida and Robert Bilgrad of Olney, Md,; son and daughter-in-law, Richard and Sue Vane of Houston, and their families; grandchildren Shane Strauss, Marika Strauss and Opai Adamson, Miriam and Julia Terlinchamp, Aaron Bilgrad, Mark and Sharyn Vane, and Jenn ifer and Evan Melrose; great-grandchildren, Eddie and Sam Vane and Madison Melrose; nephews, David Strauss, Ralph Strauss and their families, all of New York; and scores of friends and loved ones in Houston and Seattle.
He was in inspiration to many. He never would forget, but always was looking ahead with a positive outlook.
A funeral service was held Monday, Jan. 18, 2010, in Seattle.
Contributions in Simon Strauss’ memory may be made to the Holocaust Museum Houston, 5401 Caroline St., Houston, TX 77004.
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