Roger A. Strauss

Roger A. Strauss, 79, of Fort Mill, SC, unexpectedly passed away in the early morning of May 7, 2016 in Charlotte, NC. Born 1936 in New York City, NY, he moved soon after with his mother, Mary Strauss, and brother, Eric Strauss, to South Heights, PA. He married Margaret Katherine De Nuzzio on June 29, 1968, he spent the majority of his life in Center Twp., PA before moving with his wife to Fort Mill, SC in March 2016 to be closer to his children and grandchildren.

Roger graduated from Ambridge High School, PA in 1954 and went on to obtain several degrees, including a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1958, a Bachelor of Science in Administration and Management Science from Carnegie Mellon in 1968, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh in 1970. At Carnegie Mellon, he enrolled in the Army ROTC and was a member of the first Carnegie Mellon football team to go undefeated in a season in 1954. Upon completion of ROTC, he received his commission as an officer where he served four and a half years performing various duties before obtaining the rank of Captain and receiving an honorable discharge.

He began his civilian career at Duquesne Light Co. in Shippingport, PA, as a Radiation Control Engineer for the nuclear power industry, where he wrote the nation’s first emergency plan for handling a catastrophe for an atomic power plant. He continued his career in engineering management from 1966-1999 at several steel companies, including: J&L Steel Corp., Crucible Steel Co., Phoenix Steel Corp., Lukens Steel Co., Reactive Metals and Alloys Corp., Republic Engineered Steels, Inc., NKK-SE, Inc., Project Services International, Inc., and ChemTech Consultants, Inc. From 1999 to 2005, Roger then changed careers becoming a Financial Advisor with Prudential Securities and Wachovia Securities. After five years in the financial planning Roger returned his what he loved, electrical engineering, and began consulting part-time for Quattro Associates (recently purchased by Tetra Tech, Inc.).

Roger had multiple hobbies, including working in his workshop, wood working, stamp and coin collecting, and watching the Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates. Roger was a humble man known for his intelligence, razor sharp wit, and dry sense of humor that many will be greatly miss. Roger was a loving husband and an exceptional father and grandfather. He considers his family and their closeness the greatest of his accomplishments. By far, his favorite past time was spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren, who all miss him dearly.

He is survived by his wife, Margaret Strauss; his children Mary Grace Lostetter, Kristine Strauss-Mazza, and Michael Strauss; and his nine grandchildren, Stephen, Margaret, Alexandra, Caroline, Anthony, Cecilia, Aedan, Klara, and Vivica.

Visitation will be on Sunday May 15th, from 1:00 to 4:00 PM at McEwen Funeral Service-Pineville Chapel at 10500 Park Road, Charlotte, NC. Funeral services for Roger will be at St Philip Neri Catholic Church in Fort Mill, SC on Monday, May 16th from 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM with a luncheon following. Roger will be laid to rest at the Forest Lawn East Cemetery, 3700 Forest Lawn Drive, Matthews, NC. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memorial and Honor Gifts, P.O. Box 1000, Dept. 142, Memphis, TN 38148-0142. https://shop.stjude.org/GiftCatalog/donation