Mona Strauss

Mona (Goldenberg) Strauss, of Chestertown and Ocean City, MD, passed away in August 2024, after a brief illness. She was 92. Mona came from a family with roots in Maryland’s Eastern Shore community. Her Grandfather, Nathan Rapoport, operated many businesses on the Boardwalk, starting in 1912 until his retirement there 60 years later, and her father, Bernie Goldenberg, operated Bernie's Super Discount Store, selling beach equipment in the middle 20th century. As a small child, Mona was evacuated with her family in the great hurricane of August of 1933, which created the Inlet separating Ocean City from Assateague Island. A powerhouse of energy and a multitalented, trailblazing woman, Mona was born on November 1931, in Philadelphia, PA, the eldest daughter of Bernard and Gertrude (Rapoport) Goldenberg. She attended Girls’ High and then graduated from Gratz High School in 1949, as one of only two women achieving the title of Distinguished Graduate. She began her university education at Women’s College of the University of Pennsylvania but did not complete the degree, instead marrying Bob Strauss in 1951. They had met in Ocean City while she was in high school, and Bob attended Washington College and later the University of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia; they were married for 58 years. Mona worked as a seamstress at Nan Duskin (Philadelphia) and with family businesses in Ocean City, Maryland during summers. Mona worked in many different fields, including starting in her own business with two high school friends, designing and wholesaling women's clothing; as a Decennial Census worker; and for the second half of her life, as a commercial real estate broker and then general contractor for multiple real estate projects. Avocationally, she sewed, served as the Secretary and Newsletter publisher for the Wellesley (MA) League of Women Voters, and tried her hand at many forms of fine art and craft, excelling at all. She was a voracious reader, an avid gardener and decorator, doing much of her own interior design, including upholstering and draperies. With the coming of the Internet, she enjoyed the opportunity to explore many areas of interest as a detailed researcher. She loved finding “gold” at thrift stores and surprising family members with her finds. After “retirement,” Mona and Bob moved first to West Ocean City, and later to Chestertown, Maryland, and she continued to be very active in these communities, including serving in leadership roles at Temple Bat Yam, the Chestertown Havurah, the MidAtlantic Symphony Orchestra, Atlantic General Hospital, and becoming the Operating Partner for Nathan's Associates, maintaining and operating the building near the Inlet which was her grandfather Nathan's, legacy. Her artistic skills were directed to architecture, as she designed and built their first retirement home in West Ocean City according to 18th Century Williamsburg detail and specifications. She was also instrumental in the design and construction of Temple Bat Yam's building and directed modifications and upgrades to Nathan's Building, site of the iconic Dumser’s Dairyland, to keep it up with the times. At the time of her death, Mona was completing major renovations and redesign on another family property in Ocean City, in which she planned to reside. Mona was predeceased by her husband of 58 years, Robert R. Strauss; her son, Michael Alexander Strauss; and her sister Zina (Goldenberg) Wexler. She leaves behind daughters, Jane Strauss Esq (Rex Bryant) and Dr. Sarah Strauss (Dr. Carrick Eggleston), five granddaughters, three grandsons, nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. She will be greatly missed by all whose lives she touched.

Mona Strauss

January 1, 1931 - August 1, 2024