Gordon Clifton Strauss Obituary

Gordon C. Strauss, age 81, died peacefully on Saturday evening, February 8, 2020 in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. His funeral service will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Thursday, February 13, at the historic Saint James Church, Goose Creek, 100 Vestry Lane, Goose Creek, South Carolina. Burial will be at Calvary Episcopal Church in Tarboro, North Carolina at 12:00 noon on Monday, February 17, 2020.

Gordon Strauss was born on November 4, 1938 in Summit, New Jersey, the son of Clifton J. Strauss, M.D., and Bernice Houston Strauss. He attended The Pingry School in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, graduated from The University of Virginia in 1961, and earned his Juris Doctorate at Rutgers Law School in 1968.

Following law school, Gordon practiced law in Princeton, New Jersey for 40 years, primarily as a sole practitioner. He married Loralee Engelmann and raised a family in Princeton, then moved to Mount Pleasant, South Carolina in 2007. Following Loralee's death in 2012, Gordon married Louise Clark Poitras, of Tarboro, NC, in 2013. He and Louise divided their happy days together between homes in Mt. Pleasant and Charleston.

Gordon embraced living in South Carolina and immersed himself studying the history of Charleston, visiting countless historic sites in the lowcountry, and collecting Charleston Renaissance art and cherished pieces of Charleston furniture. Gordon was a member of the Carolina Yacht Club. He enjoyed a youthful curiosity, and he blessed his many friends with generosity, loyalty, and his exuberance to share meaningful experiences with them. He accepted every kindness - even the smallest gesture -- with grace and appreciation, always.

He is survived by his wife, Louise; his daughter, Gretchen Payzant, and her husband, Bill, of Mount Pleasant, SC; his son, Andrew, and his wife, Lisa, of Seattle, WA; a daughter, Heidi Hoyt, of Palm Desert, CA; a stepson, Robert Poitras, and his wife, Katy, of Chapel Hill, NC; his sister, Suzanne Art, of Lincoln, MA; and seven grandchildren: Tyler Payzant, Toby Payzant, Chloe Payzant, Ashley Svendsen, Nichols Svendsen, Ellie Poitras, and Lucy Poitras.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Calvary Church Churchyard Fund, P. O. Box 1245, Tarboro, NC 27886, or to Saint James Church, Goose Creek, PO Box 1701, Charleston, SC, 29402.

Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr, Inc., Mount Pleasant Chapel.