Carol Ann Strausburg

Carol Ann Strausburg, ‘Straus’, lost her battle with cancer on Sunday, July 29, 2018 at the age of 73.  Straus was born December 21, 1944 in Dayton, Ohio to Glenna and Roscoe Strausburg, both of whom preceded her in death.

She is survived by her brother, Robert (Fran) Strausburg from Tennessee; her nieces, Susan (Steve) Evans from Ohio, Karen (Joe) Klumpp and Melissa (Brian) Gilley from Virginia; she is also survived by many great and great-great nieces and nephews. 

Straus graduated from Northridge High School in Dayton, Ohio in 1962.  She graduated from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio in 1966 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in teaching and later received her Master’s in Physical Education from Cal State University, Long Beach.  Straus began her teaching career at Fountain Valley High School in 1966, where she was the Drill Team and Gymnastic coach.  In 1977, she returned to her first love and began a career coaching the Fountain Valley High School Lady Barons Basketball team.  During her career, Coach Straus had 385 career wins, 9 play-off appearances and 8 Sunset League titles.  In 2005, she was inducted into the CIF and Southern California Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.  In January, 2017, she was inducted into the Fountain Valley’s Girls Basketball Hall of Fame as the first inductee.  On September 22, 2018, she will be inducted in the first annual Fountain Valley Sports Hall of Fame. 

The legacy of Coach Straus is one of inspiration and positive mental attitude both on and off the court.  Basketball was not Straus’s only love – she began an incredibly successful career as an archer at the age of 10, winning multiple championships.  In 1979, she was an individual silver and team gold medalist in the Pan Am Games.  She also participated on the 1979 World Archery Team.  After retirement from Fountain Valley High School in 2004, Straus became a part time resident in Twin Lakes Village in Rathdrum, Idaho.  During this time, she became active in the women’s golf league.  In 2017, she was selected by the 18 Hole Women’s Golf League as the Positive Mental Attitude award winner, recognizing how she had inspired others with her always positive attitude.  Straus’s love for life and her desire to always have positive impact on others has given her an incredible number of friends both in the Huntington Beach, California area as well as Twin Lakes Village in Rathdrum, Idaho.

  She will always be remembered as a kind, soulful spirit and will live on in the lives of all she touched.