Lieselotte Straus
Lieselotte Straus, 92, of Fond du Lac, passed away peacefully on Thursday, January 23, 2020, at Lakeview Place. Born on August 21, 1927, in Munich, Germany, she was the daughter of the late Johannes and Alma Straus (nee Muller) and beloved sister of Johannes (Hans) Straus who preceded her in death. She is survived by her sister-in-law Editha Straus of Munich, Germany, and many dear friends.
Always a trailblazer with a sense of adventure, Lieselotte was a polyglot and dedicated linguist who taught three languages (French, German, Spanish) and spoke six. As a child Lieselotte studied languages, the humanities and art in Germany and dreamed of travel. She graduated from Humanistisches Gymnasium with Abitur in Munich, received her B.A. in French Education from Skidmore College in New York and her M.A. in Spanish at Instituto de Filologia Hispanica in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. To immerse herself in living languages and cultures, she lived and worked in the home of professional actors in England immediately after World War II. Then Lieselotte taught German, English and skiing in Switzerland for 6 years. She moved from there to Cali, Colombia, South America for 6 years, where she taught English and learned Spanish before coming to the U.S. where she worked as a professional translator, interpreter and teacher of German, French and Spanish at the elementary, high school and university levels. In no surprise to her students who marveled at her prodigious knowledge, she was nominated for many awards as outstanding language educator. Finally settling in the U.S. Lieselotte continued teaching and translating in San Francisco, New York State, Minnesota, and both St. Mary’s Springs Academy and Marian University. She retired as a professor and chair of the foreign languages department at Marian in 2001 after 20 years there. She was later bestowed the honor of Professor Emerita.
An active gardener, accomplished artist and an avid student of nature, astronomy and languages, Lieselotte combined some of her passions in sketches of wild places and vivid prose. A lover of opera, she could translate each libretto and retell each story with relish.
An athlete still walking and swimming when she was 91, Lieselotte loved tennis, hiking, skiing, swimming, and biking. As a young woman she won a Swiss gold medal in alpine skiing. Never tiring of studying and travelling to places off the beaten path, in retirement, she visited observatories, lighthouses, Alaska, Caribbean islands, Amish communities, Savannah, Georgia, Germany, France and nearly every corner of Wisconsin. She often traveled with the National Exchange Bank in Fond du Lac.
A celebration of her life and memorial of remembrance of Lieselotte will be held on Saturday, February 1, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. at Twohig Funeral Home, 305 Fond du Lac Ave Fond du Lac, WI. 54935. Private burial of cremated remains will be held at a later date at St. Michael’s Cemetery in the Town of Mitchell.
With immense gratitude, Lieselotte and her friends would like to thank the staff at Lake View Place and the nurses and caregivers of Agnesian Health Care Hospice in Fond du Lac for their compassion and care. In lieu of flowers, memorials are appreciated to Agnesian Health Care Hospice or the Humane Society of the United States at 1255 23rd Street NW, Suite 450, Washington, D.C. Twohig Funeral Home is serving the family with online guestbook and condolences at www.twohigfunerals.com.