Obituary of Henry L. Strauss

Henry Leopold Strauss

12/1/27 – 4/8/21

Henry Leopold Strauss, 93, passed away peacefully on April 8, 2021 at the home where he lived for the past 60 years.  He is survived by his wife Joan, his son Andy Strauss, his daughters Pam Strauss (Mike Zislis) and Mimi Brouillette (Mark Brouillette), his granddaughters Abbie and Emily Zislis and Emma and Edie Brouillette and his beloved dog Max.

Henry was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1927.  In 1933, as Hitler took power, his family left Germany for Spain, subsequently stayed a short time in Luxenberg, and then went to Denmark. They immigrated to New York in 1937 and came to Denver in 1939.  Henry graduated from East High School and then the University of Colorado with a degree in pharmacy.  In 1955 he obtained a real estate broker’s license and opened Strauss Realty, a residential real estate business.  Henry and his first wife, Florence, married in 1958 and spent 37 years together before Florence passed away in 1995. 

Henry was active in Democratic politics and many community organizations including the Rotary Club and the Council on Foreign Relations and he served for 22 years on the Metropolitan State University Foundation Board.  He loved to travel and continued to cross the globe well into his 80s with his second wife, Joan, whom he married in 1999.  He had a special affinity for China and made 26 trips there over the years.

In 1995, Henry set up the Florence G. Strauss Indigenous Medicine Collection Fund to collect books related to complementary health practices and indigenous therapies around the world.  In 2010, following a donation of over 1,000 volumes by Dr. Leonard Wisneski, the collection was renamed the Florence G. Strauss-Leonard A. Wisneski Indigenous and Integrative Medicine Collection.  The collection became Henry’s greatest pride and joy over the past two and a half decades and currently contains over 4,000 volumes. It is now housed at the Strauss Health Sciences Library at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

The family will hold a private graveside service on Sunday April 11, 2021 at 1:45 p.m. mountain time.  A public livestream will be available on Feldman Mortuary's YouTube channel by clicking here at the time of the service- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7CQNliXtxRvoOGVZvmH-kg.

In lieu of flowers, if you wish, please make a gift to support the Florence G. Strauss Indigenous Medicine Collection Fund at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus:  University of Colorado Foundation, PO Box 17126, Denver CO 80217. On the memo line of the check, please note Henry’s name and make it payable to the CU Foundation. Gifts may also be made online at http://www.giving.cu.edu/HenryStrauss.

A message to the Community:

The antidote to loss is connection. Unfortunately, during this pandemic, connection is limited and is leaving grieving families isolated in the midst of mourning.

In the absence of attending the funeral or paying a Shiva and Condolence Call, please consider leaving condolences and/or memories for the family and friends of Henry by clicking on the Tribute Wall tab.

For a grieving family, sharing stories of how that person impacted you is a special way to keep those memories of their loved one alive. It also helps to pass along the values, wisdom, and even humor of these lost loved ones. This type of sharing will show your support to the family members as well as other friends as you collectively mourn the loss of this special person.