Virginia (Liveright) Strauss, 82, wife of the late Richard Strauss passed away on September 11, 2018 at Hannah B. G. Shaw Home in Middleboro. Ginny was born Novemver 29, 1935 in Newark, NJ. She grew up in New Jersey and Maryland, daughter of Max Liveright II and Doris Lindeman Liveright.
She left nursing school to marry Richard Strauss and moved to Massachusetts in 1956. After her children were out of public school, she returned to college and earned her nursing degree, with highest honors. A lifelong learner, she returned to school and became certified as a Physician Assistant and earned her Master’s in Education.
She worked on Maternity at Emerson Hospital in Concord, MA and at the Grotonwood School in Groton, MA. Later on, she volunteered at Emerson Hospital and at the Manned-Vehicle Lab at MIT. She also ran a support group for people with vestibular disorders.
Ginny was an active member of Temple Isaiah, since moving to Lexington in 1963. She fulfilled a lifelong dream by becoming Bat Mitzvah in her 70s. She was an amazing nurturer, to her own children and others in need.
Her house was designed so she could see the cul de sac where the neighborhood kids played from her kitchen window. She called that “street control” and she provided emergency medical services on more than one occasion. She and Richard sponsored a child on the Lakota Sioux reservation in South Dakota.
They became close to the boy’s family and he spent many summers with them in Lexington and on Cape Cod. She enjoyed tap dancing, continuing into her 60s. As an avid Red Sox fan, she would have her kids dismissed early from school, saying they had dentist appointments, so they could attend weekday daytime Red Sox games.
She loved the ocean, especially Good Harbor Beach. She learned how to sail and took courses with the Power Squadron to learn the rules of safety on the water. She loved to captain her minifish sailboat.
Ginny was always interested in space exploration. She attended Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama on numerous occasions and applied for a position in the Citizens in Space program at NASA, which ultimately went to Christa McAuliffe. She was predeceased by her husband of 60 years, Richard.
She leaves her daughter Judy Witkowski and husband Paul of Lakeville, MA, daughter Ellen McErlean and husband Rick of Hudson, OH, and son Jonathan Strauss and wife Kerri of Groton, MA. She leaves grandchildren James Witkowski, Brian Witkowski, Jesse Witkowski, Matthew McErlean, Caitlin Holmes, Jacob Strauss, Toby Strauss, and Jordan Strauss, as well as great grandchildren Jackson Witkowski, Julius Witkowski, and Katherine Witkowski. She was predeceased by her sister, Nancy Liveright Lipman.
The family would like to thank the staff at the Hannah B.G. Shaw Home in Middleboro, MA for the exceptional care they provided for the last 18 months of Ginny’s life.
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