Jocelyn Levi Straus

Jocelyn Levi Straus, one of San Antonio's most successful community leaders and master fund-raiser, who voluntarily raised millions of dollars to enhance the economic and cultural growth of San Antonio and South Texas, died peacefully at her home, October 8, surrounded by her immediate family, including her beloved husband of 70 years, Joe R. Straus, Jr.

Joci was born January 20, 1931, in Wilkes Barre, PA. to Macolm Levi and Jocelyn Bronson Levi. Her father, a silk manufacturer who dreamed of becoming a rancher, sold his factory before the Depression and in 1934, packed the young family – including Joci, age 3, and her older brother Mike – in their car and headed West. Their last stop was San Antonio, where Levi purchased his first ranch on Old Blanco Road, which is now Timberwood Park.

Joci attended St. Mary's Hall from first grade through her graduation. She attended Mills College in California, leaving her senior year to marry Joe R. Straus, Jr., a family friend since childhood.

The couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on June 25, 2022.

They were a perfect match- with the same sense of values, humor and interests including fly-fishing, traveling, planning trips across the country with their children and supporting each other in their work and passions. Joci also was a prolific gardener throughout her life, designing gardens for every home, even through her 80s.

Joe told their three children in a family history book, "Always Meant to Be," "while Joci and I had our hands in political campaigns, restoring theatres, and introducing Texas to the joy of horse racing, nothing has been more important to us than building our family. Each of you is incredibly special not only to us, but to the world, so never be afraid to make your mark."

Joci credits her parents for instilling the values of civic duty and the importance of helping to build a city. As a couple they instilled those same values in their children and grandchildren, reminding them in the same book to: "be passionate" about your work and your interests," "be patient" and "have a purpose."
Joci's passions, after her family, were the arts, health care, education, and politics, becoming active in the latter through a desire to help move Texas from being a largely Democratic state to one evenly balanced between Democrats and Republicans.

She first got involved as chairman of the Nixon Girls, a group of women who supported Richard Nixon's presidential campaign. From there, she served as precinct chair, where she made it her mission to know every person in the precinct and walked door to door registering voters. Her success at adding people to the rolls was huge. Her national reputation began to soar as an exceptional fundraiser when she was John Tower's finance chair in 1961 for his first campaign for U.S. Senator, which he won, becoming the first Republican U.S. Senator from Texas since Reconstruction.

For the next 45 years, Joci would serve either as finance or fundraising chair for more than 30 campaigns, including President George W. Bush; Senators Phil Gramm and Kay Bailey Hutchinson; most Republican governors since Bill Clements; U.S. Representative Lamar Smith, and State Senator Cyndi Krier. Most notably, she served as Texas campaign co-chair and then as head of the finance committee for George H.W. Bush's three presidential campaigns.

She says politics fascinated her not because of power but because "you can make so many wonderful things happen behind the scenes. I'm really interested in seeing results. I don't care what party you belong to now that we've got a two-party system in Texas. I'm very good about saying, 'Just go vote!' "

After one of the successful presidential campaigns, someone asked if she would like an ambassadorship or another presidential appointment. She thought about it for a minute and said, "I just want to be postmistress of Alamo Heights!"

Her last campaign role was for the first election of her son, Joe R. Straus III, to the Texas House of Representatives. He was then elected Texas Speaker of the House by his peers and served in that role for a decade.


In the early 1980s, she was asked to be the first chair of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA). She held that position for 17 years.

During the 15-year tenure of the Health Science Center's president, John P. Howe, III, Joci worked tirelessly under his leadership to recruit and build the Center's donor base and quadrupled research spending from $32 to $124 million.

"She is directly responsible for the excellence we now appreciate at the Health Science Center by inspiring philanthropy focused on faculty recruitment and scholarship," said Francisco Cigarroa, former UTHSCSA president and Chancellor of the University of Texas System.

Joci's involvement with United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County allowed her to continue her passion and advocacy of health care, education, and women in business.

After serving on the board and chairing the United Way's annual campaign, Joci created and served as the founding chair of the Women's Leadership Council to tap into women's vast ownership of private wealth and encourage their roles as business executives and owners. The council started with a dozen women leaders and 500 members and today has more than 3,000 members. Now known as Women United, the organization has become part of United Way in every major city.

Perhaps her most public legacy is visible with the preservation and restoration of the Majestic and Empire theatres, which were scheduled for demolition in the mid-1980s.

Joci created the non-profit Las Casas Foundation to raise money for the restoration after she was asked to become involved with a public-private partnership, including Arts Center Enterprises and the city of San Antonio.

In spite of the 1980s real estate crisis, Joci raised $4.5 million for Phase I of the restoration, and the Majestic reopened September 19, 1989, for the fall season of Off-Broadway shows and the San Antonio Symphony.



From 1989 to 1998, under Joci's leadership, Las Casas raised $13.9 million for Phases I and II of the Majestic, and Phase III, the restoration of the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre.

Following the first major restorations, Joci encouraged Las Casas to create an annual scholarship competition. Now in it its 14th year, Las Casas Foundation's Performing Arts Scholarship Program has given more than $1.2 million to talented students pursuing higher education degrees in the performing arts. Las Casas named their awards the "Jocis," which are given annually to the top winners in each category.

To honor Joci's contributions to the preservation of the theatres and the shaping of future generations of theatre patrons, the city named the downtown area that houses the two theatres the "Joci Straus Performing Arts Center."

Joci also received a presidential appointment from Ronald Reagan to serve on the National Endowment for the Arts, where she met artists from all over the country, and brought several to the Majestic, including legendary Blues performer, B.B. King.

She was a member of the Texas Cultural Trust Council and the founder of its Texas Medal of Arts Awards.

Throughout her years, Joci has been awarded with numerous recognitions for her fundraising, but perhaps the highest honor she received was the opportunity to meet Civil Rights leader Rosa Parks. Barbara Bush invited Joci to the White House for a private tea she was having with Parks. They were invited to the Lincoln Bedroom where Parks quietly studied the Emancipation Proclamation. Joci recalled spending that time with Parks was a moment she would always cherish.

She has earned plenty of honors over the years, and all sorts of trophies and photographs filled the shelves over the desk in her home office. Of these many honors, she said: "that's not important. The important thing is that we spend time with the people we love."

She was predeceased by her parents and her brother.




Survivors include her husband of 70 years, Joe R. Straus, Jr., and their three children and spouses, Lyn Selig (Peter), Susan Straus, and Joe R. Straus III (Julie), as well as her sister-in-law, Debbie Straus.

Joci also is survived by four grandchildren, who knew her affectionately as "Yaya," Stuart Selig (Laura); Jocelyn Selig Aramburu (Jason) of San Francisco, CA; Sara Straus of Los Angeles, CA and Robyn Straus, of New York City, as well as five great-grandchildren, Peter, Ford and Emilie Selig, and Jocelyn "Soleil" and Ella Aramburu.

A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, October 14, 2022, at Temple Beth-El in the Wulfe Sanctuary, 211 Belknap Place, with a private burial. For those unable to attend, livestreaming will be available from the link within her obituary page at www.porterloring.com. In lieu of flowers, and if desired, contributions may be made to the Las Casas Foundation, the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio, or the charity of one's choice.

The Straus family is eternally grateful for Dr. Mark Thornton, Dr. Sudha Seshadri, Dr. Neela Patel, Heart of Texas Hospice, Martha Cave of Helping Our Seniors and her wonderful caregivers: Stacy-Ann Miller, Leondra White, Charslyn Washington, Julia Cabral, Tasha Henderson, Kumbah Turay, Clara Johnson, Eunice Hendricks, Xiomara Johnson, Ana Guerra and their devoted housekeeper of 22 years, Stella Alvarado.