[It’s National Delurking Week. Click here for info. Have you de-lurked yet?]
Today, I learned that my Godfather, JC Strauss II, died at the end of December. The funeral is Friday. So, I decided to write a remembrance post, as I did when my dad died. So, I decided to google JC.
I was in for a surprise.
I learned that he was the grandson of a very famous St. Louis Photographer, Julius Caesar Strauss. I knew he was from St. Louis, but I never knew much about that part of his life. The pieces, however, are there. The article notes that:
Strauss had three sons and one daughter. The eldest son, Louis Reuben Strauss, began a fulltime association with his father in the studio in 1911. His skills and professional interests made him heir apparent and Louis did indeed become the head of the studio when his father died in 1924. Louis’ son, named after his grandfather, is currently helping with information on the family.
I remember JC working on his family tree; in fact, I helped him get a new computer for tree work. I also learned how he came to Los Angeles:
The studio was closed in 1940 by Louis who moved to Los Angeles. The depression had been difficult times for the Strauss studio as it was for most businesses.
This was around the time my mother came to Los Angeles from St. Louis; her mother (Hortense) and a relative of JC’s (Ruth Fhrolicstein) were good friends.
This also explains the old pictures I always remember seeing at JC’s house, including an apparently very cherished one of a little boy. I’m guessing now that it was one of his grandfather’s pictures of him. You can see a picture of JC with his family on this page.
Wow. I never knew this.
So what else do I remember about JC. First, he was Army, through and through. He was a retired Lt. Col. (actually, LTC FA AUS), very proud of his military service. He was very active in the Military Order of the World Wars, and at the time of his death, was Special Assistant to the CINC of that organization.
Being ex-Army (and proud of it), he would put up with nothing. You don’t make it to LTC without being sharp. If you got your foot anywhere near your mouth, JC would gladly help you put it in the rest of the way, and make sure you chewed vigorously. Some took this as crochety; others took it as lovable.
He was a bank officer for many years. I remember visiting him at the bank.
He was a stamp collector. I do remember learning how to do stamp collecting with him.
In his later years, after we moved to the valley, we didn’t see him that much. This was especially true after my mom died in 1990. I did get a chance to see him and talk to him at a funeral in early December. I never got a chance to call him back and catch up.
