Obit: Kurt Strauss (S: 1941-1948)
We were so sad to hear of the passing of Kurt Strauss on 2nd March 2026, who served on the Old Scholars' Committee and as a S.O.S.A. representative on the Sidcot School Governing Board.
| 13 Mar 2026 | |
| Written by Sarah Simms | |
| Reported Deaths |
Born in Stuttgart in July 1930, Kurt came to England on the Kindertransport. Having been given a home by Quakers, he attended Sidcot School from 1941 to 1948, winning the Essay Prize. He went on to a distinguished career in electrical engineering, working in Kenya and Egypt, Brussels and London. From 1977-1989, he represented the Electricity Council and Area Boards on the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe's Committee on Electrical Power, chairing the Committee's Group of Experts on Distribution and Rural Electrification (1986-1988).
Kurt served Quakers in various capacities at local, area, national and international levels. He was on the Old Scholars' Committee (serving as Secretary in 1968-69 and 1991-1993) and S.O.S.A representative on the Sidcot School Governing Board between 1976-1980. He was a much-loved presence at the School's Northern Reunions and is remembered fondly by our whole community. He is survived by three children: Pete, Diana and Alison.
With thanks to Tom Leimdorfer for some of the information above and to Wendy Hewitt for the photograph.
As published in The Friend, Kurt's funeral will be held on Wednesday, 25th March at 2.30 pm at York Crematorium (YO23 2QD) with refreshments afterwards at Hartrigg Oaks. The livestream link is given as https://bit.ly/KStrauss. The livestream will be available to view from three days after the event for 28 days.
You may also be interested to read this obituary from The Guardian newspaper online, written by Pete Strauss: Kurt Strauss obituary | Engineering | The Guardian . With thanks to Giles Alldis for sharing it with us.
