in loving memory of ray strauss
My grandfather just recently passed away; I'm finally getting around to writing about it. A lot of my time has involved being there for family, so I apologize to various people that I've been out of contact with for the past week or so. With him gone, and having already lost my dad, I now have only TWO direct relatives left: my mom, and my grandmother. I have no siblings, of course. I have some aunts, uncles, and cousins... but none of them live locally nor do I see or talk to them very often. So for me, mom and grandma mean the world... and it makes me appreciate them all that much more.
He was 88 years old, we had celebrated his birthday only a couple months ago. He had been unable to talk since a few weeks before his birthday, though, and had eventually gone into a coma. He left peacefully, and we knew his time had come. It was strange to see him so quiet, since he was always such a fighter in life. He'd been through countless surgeries and medical hardships in the past decade, but he always pulled through in nearly full health afterwards. It was as if he were invincible, sometimes. He has some good genes in him, and I can only hope to personally live anywhere near as long as he did.
Speaking of genes, something I forgot to mention before: he was not technically my biological grandfather. When my father and aunt were very young, still toddlers, their birth father passed away. His name was Leonard Blumberg, and that was originally our family name. He passed away over a half century ago, while only in his fourties. Far too young; his kids never really got to know him. Similarly with my own father, he died in his fifties. Far too young; but thank god I was blessed with almost twenty years of having my dad in my life. I'm just praying, personally, that I can break this chain and live a lot longer than they did. Having heart conditions and diabetes in your family history is not a good thing, and you hafta make lifestyle changes to try and combat it.
But anyhow, back to grandpa, to Ray Strauss. He was in the Air Force in World War II, and was the lone survivor when his plane went down in an enemy attack. A few years later, he would meet a woman named Miriam Blumberg, my grandmother. They were later married, and he legally adopted my father and aunt. They would be married for 55 long years, until death they did part. They had plenty of rough times, as any married couple will. But they stuck together, through thick and thin, and their love sustained. Even when he had to be put in a nursing home, a couple years ago, she went to visit him as often as she could (numerous times per week).
I learned a lot from my grandpa, things for which I'll always be grateful. Most of all, I learned that the word "family" doesn't just mean someone with whom you share a bloodline. He was as loving of a husband, father, and grandfather as we could have ever hoped for in life. He was there for us all, through good times and bad. Even when he would often act cranky or stubborn, his love for his family always shined through. He was so proud when I was born, to finally have a grandson. He posed for a picture with me, in my little baby yamulcha (a picture which my grandma always hung in the kitchen). They would always reiterate what he said when I was born, "I'm gonna be there for you, kid. Right from the start." And since my aunt Janna never had a kid of her own, I remain as the "only Strauss to carry on the bloodline" as they say. As much as I may fight it, I may feel compelled to have a kid some day.
I hadn't seen my grandparents as much as we would have liked over the past five or six years. Whether it was due to fulltime work, having moved away, or etc. Regardless, my love for them has never wavered. It was never anything personal, and I always had lots of fun when I would visit them. They are more important to me than I could ever convey, and I think my grandpa knows this as he enters the life beyond. Something he said to me, a while back, was how, "People don't care if you say nice things about them after they're already dead. Or if you treat them nicely in their final days only because they're on their death bed. It's about how you treat them through the entirety of their life... while they're still alive."
He said this to my grandma and me when my dad passed away, almost five years ago. It helped me realize how it's useless to feel bad, dwelling on the missed times you could have spent together in those last few years they were alive. Or to feel bad that you didn't get to say goodbye. Instead, I feel blessed for all the times we DID have together, since the day I was born. I had the most loving father in the world, for two decades. Many people go through life without ever even knowing their dad, and would envy that. The same applies to my grandpa, and my life is all the better because he was a part of it. I love you grandpa, always, and I will miss you...
He was 88 years old, we had celebrated his birthday only a couple months ago. He had been unable to talk since a few weeks before his birthday, though, and had eventually gone into a coma. He left peacefully, and we knew his time had come. It was strange to see him so quiet, since he was always such a fighter in life. He'd been through countless surgeries and medical hardships in the past decade, but he always pulled through in nearly full health afterwards. It was as if he were invincible, sometimes. He has some good genes in him, and I can only hope to personally live anywhere near as long as he did.
Speaking of genes, something I forgot to mention before: he was not technically my biological grandfather. When my father and aunt were very young, still toddlers, their birth father passed away. His name was Leonard Blumberg, and that was originally our family name. He passed away over a half century ago, while only in his fourties. Far too young; his kids never really got to know him. Similarly with my own father, he died in his fifties. Far too young; but thank god I was blessed with almost twenty years of having my dad in my life. I'm just praying, personally, that I can break this chain and live a lot longer than they did. Having heart conditions and diabetes in your family history is not a good thing, and you hafta make lifestyle changes to try and combat it.
But anyhow, back to grandpa, to Ray Strauss. He was in the Air Force in World War II, and was the lone survivor when his plane went down in an enemy attack. A few years later, he would meet a woman named Miriam Blumberg, my grandmother. They were later married, and he legally adopted my father and aunt. They would be married for 55 long years, until death they did part. They had plenty of rough times, as any married couple will. But they stuck together, through thick and thin, and their love sustained. Even when he had to be put in a nursing home, a couple years ago, she went to visit him as often as she could (numerous times per week).
I learned a lot from my grandpa, things for which I'll always be grateful. Most of all, I learned that the word "family" doesn't just mean someone with whom you share a bloodline. He was as loving of a husband, father, and grandfather as we could have ever hoped for in life. He was there for us all, through good times and bad. Even when he would often act cranky or stubborn, his love for his family always shined through. He was so proud when I was born, to finally have a grandson. He posed for a picture with me, in my little baby yamulcha (a picture which my grandma always hung in the kitchen). They would always reiterate what he said when I was born, "I'm gonna be there for you, kid. Right from the start." And since my aunt Janna never had a kid of her own, I remain as the "only Strauss to carry on the bloodline" as they say. As much as I may fight it, I may feel compelled to have a kid some day.
I hadn't seen my grandparents as much as we would have liked over the past five or six years. Whether it was due to fulltime work, having moved away, or etc. Regardless, my love for them has never wavered. It was never anything personal, and I always had lots of fun when I would visit them. They are more important to me than I could ever convey, and I think my grandpa knows this as he enters the life beyond. Something he said to me, a while back, was how, "People don't care if you say nice things about them after they're already dead. Or if you treat them nicely in their final days only because they're on their death bed. It's about how you treat them through the entirety of their life... while they're still alive."
He said this to my grandma and me when my dad passed away, almost five years ago. It helped me realize how it's useless to feel bad, dwelling on the missed times you could have spent together in those last few years they were alive. Or to feel bad that you didn't get to say goodbye. Instead, I feel blessed for all the times we DID have together, since the day I was born. I had the most loving father in the world, for two decades. Many people go through life without ever even knowing their dad, and would envy that. The same applies to my grandpa, and my life is all the better because he was a part of it. I love you grandpa, always, and I will miss you...