Emma Strowig

In Celebration of the Life of Emma Strowig

Emma Louise Strowig passed away on the evening of July 4th in Madison. Emma grew up in Columbus, Kansas, and was deeply loved by her parents, Gladys and Andrew Britton. Over the course of her life, she maintained close friendships with her childhood friends, her friends from college, and her friends in the Madison area.

For the past year, mother resided at BrightStar Senior Living on the west side of Madison. There she received wonderful care and support from the Agrace hospice staff and BrightStar healthcare team, including Linda McFeely, Robyn Shearer, and Bonnie Banker.

Emma met her loving husband, Ronald Wray Strowig, in Kansas. She completed her undergraduate degree in political science at the University of Kansas, where she and Wray were introduced by mutual friends. Intrigued by the world of nations as an undergraduate, she considered the possibility of entering government service in the field of foreign affairs. Her dreams to see the world were later to be realized when she traveled in her life on different occasions to visit and tour the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, and Scandinavia.

Following their courtship and wedding in Kansas, Emma and Wray moved to California in the early 1950s, where their only son, Andrew, was born and Wray completed graduate school. Over the years, Wray went on to teach in higher education and the family resided in Kansas and the Chicago area, later moving in the 1960s to Madison, where Wray was a professor in counseling and guidance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He passed away in 1969.

Throughout their lives together, Emma and Wray celebrated their love and friendship and shared their deep commitment to the mission of education. Emma worked as an elementary teacher in the Madison area and, for the latter part of her career, as a high school teacher at Mendota Mental Health Institute. Her legacy was to teach, inspire, and empower children and youth to learn, develop self-worth, and believe in their intelligence and capability to succeed in their lives and education. The values of education were of paramount importance in her life and career. Reflective of her depth of commitment to education, she completed her master's degree and thesis in reading at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Important to Emma's life and legacy are her commitment to education and her support for non-profit and charitable organizations. As she continued to pursue her passion for reading, music, and the arts in retirement, she loved to attend plays and concerts and to volunteer her time as tour guide at the University of Wisconsin-Madison art museum. Less well known were her generous financial contributions to non-profit and charitable organizations. Her favorites were UNICEF, the Salvation Army in Madison, Wisconsin Public Radio, and Wisconsin Public Television. Her financial support for UNICEF symbolized her deep commitment to the health, mental health, education, and welfare of youth in poverty across the globe.

Emma's life and legacy are represented in part by her deep commitment to her family, her friends, and children and youth of all races and backgrounds. She will be remembered for her love, her kindness, her courage, and devotion to her family and friends and by her commitment to improve the world we live in. She will be missed by her loving friends, her loving son and relatives, as well as by many who came to know her over the years.

As an informal memorial service for friends and neighbors, a table of photos of Emma and yellow roses (her favorite flowers) will be available at the Cress Center in Middleton from 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM on Wednesday, July 15th, offering an opportunity to visit, to share reflections of special moments, or even to spend a minute or two in quiet remembrance and celebration of Emma's life.

Later in the summer, Emma will be buried by her son, Andrew, in Columbus, Kansas, next to her husband Wray. Donations to UNICEF in honor and remembrance of Emma can be made by calling 1-800-367-5437 or online at
www.unicef.org.


Cress Center
6021 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53705
608-238-8406