Helaine Brodie Strauss

Helaine Brodie Strauss, a pioneer in Jewish social work with a passion for social justice, died suddenly Tuesday Jan. 28, 2020 at Orange Regional Medical Center in Middletown, near her daughter’s home.

Helaine was one of the first woman appointed to head a Jewish Y when she became the founding leader of the Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center in Commack. She nurtured the center for 18 years, building it from a small office to a 156,000 square foot facility – the third largest JCCC in the country at one time.

By the time of her retirement in 1995, according to a Congressional Record submission, she had “had vastly changed the landscape of Long Island’s Jewish Community.”

Joel Block, who succeeded Helaine, said that she was doing programs that no one else in the country was doing at the time, delving into topics such as Jewish education and intermarriage.

Block said “she really believed in the big tent theory” of Judaism that accorded a place to everyone whether they were Orthodox, Conservative or Reform.

“She drove everything into existence by her force of will, “ he said.

Helaine was born in Atlanta Georgia. She received a journalism degree from the University of Georgia and worked for the Southern Israelite for a year. She raised her family in Wantagh, N.Y. earned a masters degree in social work from Adelphi University.

She lived in Manhattan after her retirement, relishing the shows and the lectures the city had to offer. She taught anti-racism courses in Harlem and spoke up for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Helaine was predeceased by her husband Alvin, who died in December 1995. Helaine is survived by her children, Mark and his wife Jaye Medalia, Barbara and her husband Jeff Storey, and Michael and his wife Katherine; grandchildren Lily Medalia and Jesse Strauss, Hanna and Rebecca Ingber, Allie and Nicole Strauss; and great grandchildren Alma and Tess Metlitsky and Issac and Aarev Yerasi.

She had a tight circles of friends, bringing together the Warner and the Strauss families to celebrate 61 years of Jewish holidays. Ruth became surrogate daughter.

Funeral services will be held 10:00 AM Friday January 31, 2020 at Hellman Memorial Chapels, 15 State Street, Spring Valley, NY. Interment will follow at Mount Ararat Cemetery, Lindenhurst, NY. Memorial contributions should be made in Mrs. Strauss' memory to Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center in Commack, NY.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hellmanmemorial.com for the Strauss family.