Steven Strautz

Steve was surrounded by his family when he died on June 10, 2012, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, MN, after a brief illness. He was born on November 13, 1953, in Storm Lake, Iowa, to Paul and Dorothy (Baustian) Strautz. Steve and his brother Dave were raised in Spencer, Iowa. Steve graduated from the University of Iowa which is where he fell in love with the Hawkeyes and Susan. Steve and Susan Albert were united in marriage on July 9, 1977. They started their family in Des Moines and Mason City before making their home in Marshall in 1989. Together they raised three children, Christopher, Nicholas and Laura. He was a proud father who by example taught his children to have faith, be loving and kind. Steve’s greatest joys in life were his grandson Brennan, golfing, grilling out, coffee with his buddies or daughter-in-law Andrea, watching sports, especially the Hawkeyes, attending church, and the times he spent with his family and friends. Steve was a passionate and devoted man. He gave much love to his family and friends and shared his many talents with the community. For the past ten years, Steve was a proud owner of Wilson O’Brien Realtors. Prior to that, he worked for many years in the banking business. Steve enjoyed his work and looked at challenges as opportunities to make a difference. He was a community leader who was involved in several organizations over the years. Steve was a member of First Lutheran Church, Marshall Rotary, Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce, Marshall Industries Foundation, the Chamber’s Business Development Committee, and the Southwest Minnesota “I” Club. He volunteered time on the Wiener Memorial Hospital Board, Marshall Municipal Utilities Commission, SMSU Booster Club, and he was one of the founders of the Chamber of Commerce Transportation Committee in 2006. He served on the Region 3 Representative for the Executive Committee and was currently serving on the Board of Government Affairs for Commerce. Steve was honored with the award of Volunteer of the Year in 2010 by the Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce and as Realtor of the Year in 2011 by the West Central Association of Realtors. Despite being deeply involved in the community, Steve was a man of integrity and balance. He still had time to ponder over baseball with Christopher, coach one of Nicholas’ basketball teams, golf with Laura as one of the best father/daughter teams in the annual Father’s Day Tournament, and spend hours fussing over kindergarten things with Sue. Steve was a wonderful husband, father and friend. He has certainly left his mark on this world; he will be remembered and dearly missed. Survivors include his wife Susan, children Christopher (Andrea) from Moorhead, MN, Nicholas from Minnetonka, MN, and Laura from Fargo, ND, his grandson Brennan, his brother Dave (Kathy) Strautz, his father-in-law Jack Albert, sister-in-law Deborah Albert, and brother-in-law John (Janet) Albert, his nieces and nephews Sarah Baker, Kortney Miller, Jonathan Strautz, Jack Albert and Lauren Albert, his dogs Coco and Sadie, and many dear friends. He was preceded in death by his parents Paul and Dorothy Strautz, and his mother-in-law Elizabeth Albert. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions to the Pride in the Tiger Foundation or Phase Two of the Memorial Park Project. The family wishes to thank everyone for their support and prayers. A special thank you to the team at Wilson O’Brien who have been working to keep things business as usual with the community in mind just the way Steve would have wanted. Blessed be the memory of Steven Strautz.