Sam Strauss Jr.

SAM STRAUSS JR., a retired Little Rock businessman, investor and avid duck hunter, died Aug. 25, 2011, of complications from supra nuclear palsy, a rare degenerative disease. Mr. Strauss had a career of more than 30 years in Little Rock retailing, first with his family's department store, Pfeifers of Arkansas, and later with Dillard's Department Stores and Sterling Stores/Magic Mart. Mr. Strauss joined Pfeifers after graduating from Tulane University where he met his wife Shirley. In 1963, Mr. Strauss' father sold the Pfeifers stores to William Dillard and Strauss managed Dillard's Park Plaza store for several years. In 1968 he became a soft goods buyer and later Vice President and Divisional Soft Goods Merchandising Manger at Sterling Stores/Magic Mart where he worked for his best friend Dave Grundfest Jr. He retired from Sterling Stores/Magic Mart in 1983. As a life-long resident of Little Rock, Strauss was actively involved in business and charitable activities in central Arkansas. He joined the Downtown Little Rock Rotary Club while working at Pfeifers in 1984 and remained a member until 2006. He was a director of Peoples Savings and Loan Association. When First Federal Savings of Arkansas merged with Peoples, he served on the First Federal Board from 1983 to 1989. In 1986, he co-founded and briefly operated Generic Drugs, Arkansas' first drug store focusing on low-cost generic prescription drugs. Mr. Strauss served on the Board of Directors of the Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind for 30 years (from 1978 until 2008) and chaired their Finance Committee and Compensation committees several times. He also served on the Board of the Centers for Youth and Families, a central Arkansas social service agency. Strauss served several terms on the Board of Directors of Temple B'nai Israel in Little Rock and had been on the Board of the Ottenheimer Foundation since 1987. Mr. Strauss' father had maintained a strong interest in the Arkansas Art Center, then after his father's death in 1986, the Strauss family, Mr. Strauss' sister, Ruby McCaskill and the Thalheimer families contributed funds to the Art Center for the construction of a gallery named after his father. In 1967, when Little Rock's two largest private country clubs had policies which prevented Jews and African-Americans from becoming members, Strauss joined with Pat Riley Jr., William Bowen and others to form the Little Rock Racquet Club, a swim and tennis club that would be open to all. He served on the Racquet Club's founding Board of Directors. Strauss was a member of the Chancellor's Club at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and, along with his wife, was a major donor to the Winthrop Rockefeller Cancer Research Center. He was a past Treasurer of the Cancer Research Center's Board of Directors and board member from 1991 to 2004. Earlier this year, the Jewish Federation of Arkansas presented a lifetime achievement award to Sam and Shirley Strauss. In addition to his family, Strauss had two passions - duck hunting and collecting antique wood working tools. In 1966 he and several other avid hunters purchased land near Stuttgart and formed the Bull Sprigs Duck Club. Each season, Strauss sought to hunt as many days as possible, sometimes arriving at work at 10 a.m. after a morning shoot. After retiring, Strauss would often stay at the Club for several days at a time, living in a mobile home. His friends observed that Strauss was more comfortable in that mobile home than anywhere in the world. While younger hunters eagerly tallied how many ducks they could claim, Strauss, an excellent shot, was often content to marvel at nature's beauty. Strauss developed an interest in antique wood working tools as a young man and traveled extensively around the Midwest and New England, making purchases at antiques shops and tool auctions. He claimed the trips were vacations in order to entice his wife to join him. As his collection grew, Strauss spent more time cleaning and cataloging, and the collection eventually took over his children's former playroom and other spaces in their home. He participated in the Midwest Tool Collectors Association and often attended their yearly meetings. In 2006 he donated nearly his entire collection to the Arkansas State University Museum in Jonesboro. Mr. Strauss was born in Little Rock to the late Eleanor and Sam Strauss Sr. He graduated from Little Rock Senior High School (now Central High) and Tulane University in New Orleans where he was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. He served in the U.S. Air Force stationed in Mobile, Ala. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Shirley, their three children, Susan and Trip of Little Rock and Steve of Washington, D.C., a granddaughter, Steele and a sister, Ruby Smith, also of Little Rock. Funeral services will be held at Temple B'nai Israel on Monday, Aug. 29, at 2 p.m., with Rabbi Eugene Levy officiating, followed by burial at Oakland Jewish Cemetery. The family requests that contributions in Sam's name be made to Ducks Unlimited or the Winthrop Rockefeller Cancer Research Center. Arrangements are under the direction of Griffin Leggett Healey & Roth, 5800 W. 12th Street, Little Rock, Ark., 72204. 501-661-9111. Mr. Strauss' online guest registry is available at www.griffinleggetthealeyroth.com.