Sarah Wolcott Straus Died August 20, 2019

                             SARAH WOLCOTT STRAUS

                                           1931 ~ 2019

Sarah Wolcott Straus, of Northport, passed away peacefully Tuesday, August 20, 2019 at the Northport Highlands.

Sarah lived life to its fullest. While she lived all over the United States and the world, her home was always in Leelanau County. She was born in Denver on December 9, 1931. A daughter of an Episcopal Minister (Leonard Wolcott and Anne Smith), she grew up in Oregon, Indiana, and Kenosha, Wisconsin. As a child, Sarah spent most of her summers at the family cottage in East Leland which her grandfather built. She graduated from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota and studied for a year at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Upon her graduation in 1954, Sarah worked for several years with the CIA in Washington DC and London.

She met her husband Ulrich (Rick) Straus in Washington while he was working at the Department of State. They married in Trinity Church in New York City in 1959 and moved to Tokyo where Rick started his first Foreign Service post with the American Embassy. Sarah threw herself into learning Japanese language and culture. In 1965, they moved to Berlin, Germany, where she and Rick regularly travelled in East Germany to keep an American presence. Other postings for the State Department outside of Washington DC, included Rome, Italy and Bern, Switzerland. The last foreign posting was for four years in Okinawa, Japan where Rick served as the US Consul General. 

Sarah began her interest in social work in Okinawa where she volunteered for the Pearl Buck Foundation to help children of American and Japanese parents. Sarah earned her master’s degree in social work from the University of Maryland in 1985. She worked for Prince Georges County, Maryland as a social worker for several years until she retired full time to Leelanau County. Sarah continued to work as a social worker in northern Michigan as a bereavement counsellor at Munson Medical Center. 

Sarah treasured her time in Leelanau. She instilled her children with her love of the area. In 1985, she and Rick bought their property on Gills Pier Road. Sarah and Rick moved to their home on Gills Pier year-round in 1997. Sarah loved to swim, hike, ski and enjoy the outdoors during all four seasons. She spent the last nine years at the Northport Highlands. We are grateful for the care Sarah received there. 

Sarah is survived by her son, Michael, and his wife, Christine, and their four children Chris, Ian, Meg, and Nathan of West Hartford, Connecticut; her son, John, and his wife Michele, of Damascus, Maryland; her daughter, Becky, of Ardmore, Pennsylvania; and her brother, Peter, of Northport. 

She was preceded in death by her two sons, Christopher and Andrew; her husband, Rick; and her sister, Katharine Wolcott Turner.

The family will hold a memorial service on a date to be determined.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations in Sarah’s honor to be given to the Leelanau Conservancy, PO Box 1007 Leland, MI 49654.

Please share condolences with Sarah’s family below or on our Facebook page: