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Fred, Shirley Ruth

Female 1932 - 2014  (81 years)


Personal Information    |    Notes    |    Sources    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name Fred, Shirley Ruth  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
    Born 8 Sep 1932  Waco, McLennan, Texas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8
    Gender Female 
    Died 31 Jan 2014  Little Rock, Pulaski, Arkansas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [3, 5, 9
    Buried Oakland Jewish Cemetery, Little Rock, Pulaski, Arkansas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [5, 10
    Person ID I19014  Our Family | Descendants of Lob Pfeifer
    Last Modified 16 Jan 2024 

    Family Strauss, Samuel Bernhart Jr.,   b. 14 May 1930, Little Rock, Pulaski, Arkansas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 25 Aug 2011, Little Rock, Pulaski, Arkansas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 81 years) 
    Married 14 Jun 1953  Waco, McLennan, Texas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 4
    Children 
    +1. Strauss, Samuel Bernhart III
     2. Strauss, Steven Fred
     3. Strauss, Susan Fred
    Last Modified 16 Jan 2024 
    Family ID F7716  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • Shirley Strauss, a Little Rock homemaker and long-time supporter of the Winthrop Rockefeller Cancer Research Center, died Friday, January 31, 2014 of complications from cancer.

      While focusing on raising her children during the early years of her marriage, Mrs. Strauss also found time to help others. In the troubled times of the 1960's she became a founding member of the central Arkansas chapter of the Panel of American Women. In 1963 Mrs. Strauss joined the late Sara Murphy and Brownie Ledbetter and other Little Rock women to start a Panel chapter in Little Rock. The Panel was composed of women of different religious faiths and racial backgrounds who would speak about themselves before church groups and civic organizations to help ease the tensions of school desegregation in Arkansas. The Panel presentations allowed Arkansans to confront their fears and prejudices in order to learn about people of different races or religions in an informal and non-threatening way. Throughout her life, Mrs. Strauss often worked behind the scenes as a quiet advocate of the less privileged. After her youngest child was midway through high school, Mrs. Strauss converted a passion into a part-time business by beginning a twenty-year career as a personal shopper, helping women and men with their shopping needs. She specialized in helping women put together wardrobes and assisting men in finding the right gifts for birthdays, anniversaries and holidays. Operating under the "Something Special Shopping Service" name, she visited several stores each week in Little Rock to keep abreast of the latest fashion trends. One of her customers went on to become a U.S. Senator and the Secretary of State.

      Mrs. Strauss was a former board member of the Federation of Jewish Charities, now the Jewish Federation of Arkansas. She also taught a comparative religions Sunday school class at temple B'nai Israel for many years.

      In 2011 the Jewish Federation of Arkansas awarded Mrs. Strauss and her late husband, Sam, the Jane Mendel Tikkun Olam lifetime of service award.
      In her later years Mrs. Strauss volunteered at the Dixon Patient Waiting Room at the Winthrop Rockefeller Cancer Institute at UAMS. A long-time patient herself, Mrs. Strauss easily extended great empathy.

      Mrs. Strauss was a native of Waco, Texas: the daughter of the late Isidore and Helen Fred. After graduating valedictorian from Waco High School she attended Sophie Newcomb College at Tulane University and graduated with a degree in Early Childhood Education. At Tulane she met her future husband, Sam, whom she married in 1953. Mr. Strauss died in 2011.

      Mrs. Strauss is survived by her three children, Susan and Trip of Little Rock and Steve of Washington, DC; a brother Herbert Fred of Houston and a granddaughter, Steele, who attends college in Charleston, South Carolina.

  • Sources 
    1. [S108] Online Tree, Ancestry.com, genealogy.com.

    2. [S77] Online Biography, jewisharkansas.org.

    3. [S508] Social Security Death Index, Ancestry.com, (Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.Original data - Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration.Original data: Social Security Administration. Social Security ;), Issue State: Louisiana; Issue Date: 1952.

    4. [S91] Online Bio, https://pfeifercamp.com/History_0G5B.html, jewisharkansas.org.

    5. [S1155] U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1700s-Current, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.;).

    6. [S115] Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc;).
      Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997
      Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997


    7. [S1666] Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1932, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.;).
      Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1932
      Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1932


    8. [S47] Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997, Ancestry.com, (Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.Original data - Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997. Texas: Texas Department of State Health Services. Microfiche.Original data: Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997. Texas: Texas Department of State;), for Michael.

    9. [S409] ssdi.

    10. [S23] FindAGrave.com.