CELIA STRAUSS

STRAUSS, Celia (Savitz) Celia Savitz Strauss, who died peacefully at home on December 7th, prized the most important things in life-her family, her close friendships, and love. First and foremost and above all else, Celia loved her husband Adam and their son Kalman. She filled their lives with adventure and nature, music and stillness, tight hugs and ample space. For Celia, creating a stable and loving family with Adam and Kalman was her greatest accomplishment. Celia lived her values. By personal example, she showed all who knew her how to turn judgment into empathy, how to be vulnerable without shame, how to apologize and how to forgive. She spoke truthfully and eschewed small talk. She was grateful for simple things and cherished love as the greatest gift of all. Celia noticed. She looked at people with x-ray vision, seeing each one's essence often before they could see it for themselves. Those who met her only once felt that she understood them. Celia also noticed the natural world. She saw individual leaves where others saw trees; she detected the undetectable opening of a flower. Even when walking in the woods became difficult, it was Celia who spotted the new mushroom, who saw the face in the tree trunk, who found the heart-shaped leaf. Celia's eye-for the best in people and for the beauty in nature-invited others to look more carefully and to notice more. Celia was a fearless chooser of life. She fought for her own life after her premature birth. She fought for her son's life during her high-risk pregnancy.  And her valiant fight with cancer was a master class. Perhaps because of those battles, Celia believed deeply in the power of choice-choosing happiness, choosing gratitude, choosing meaning, choosing how to learn from setbacks and loss. Toward the end of her life she wrote, "Some think only those who have it easy can make choices. This is not the case. Choosing is really and truly hard. It is active. It is work. It is possible." Celia was an educator. At Harvard, where she ran CityStep, and for the next 35 years-formally and informally-Celia helped schools offer children the education they deserve, which she regarded as the civil rights issue of our time. Celia died as she lived-with incomparable strength, with gratitude and with love. She was preceded in death by her father David Savitz and is survived by Adam Strauss, her husband of 26 years, and their beloved son Kalman Strauss; her mother Roberta Apfel (Bennett Simon) and stepmother Libby Keller; her brother Michael Savitz (Karin) and sister Molly Savitz (Jeff Merkowitz); her half-brother Paul Savitz and half-sister Emma Savitz (Sam Crawford); her stepbrother Jonathan Simon (Cherie Rosenblum) and stepsister Amy Simon; her beloved uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces, and in-laws; and scores of friends, old and new. Funeral Services will be held on Sunday, December 10th at 10:30 am at Temple Reyim, 1860 Washington Street in Newton, and live streamed at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83755409947 The burial will follow the service at the Beit Olam Cemetery, 60 Old Sudbury Road in Wayland. Shiva will be at the Strauss home, following the burial until 6 pm; Monday, December 11th and Tuesday, December 12th, 5-8 pm. In lieu of flowers, Celia requested that you please express your love to somebody for the unique person that they are.