Stephen Straus with his son, Jon.Photo: Courtesy of Cynthia StrausIt has been two weeks sincea shooter opened fire at a 4th of July parade in Highland Park., Ill., killing seven people and injuring dozens more. According to the family of Stephen Straus, an 88-year-old financial advisor who was murdered that day, the grief remains overwhelming.“It doesn’t get better as the days go on,” his niece Cynthia Straus tells PEOPLE.“The shock is wearing off, and the reality is setting in,” she adds. “And we will live with this for the rest of our lives.“Cynthia says her uncle was “very loved” and remembers him as an extremely patient and funny man who regularly attended the symphony and enjoyed The Art Institute of Chicago.He talked on the phone with his brother, Cynthia’s father, multiple times a day, and leaves behind two sons, four grandchildren and his wife of 60 years.“He was just an all around good guy,” Cynthia remembers. “He took care of a lot of people. He was a big oak sheltering his own.“Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.His family has set up aGoFundMewhere they called Stephen “a gentleman in every sense of the word.“Before his death, Stephen took the train downtown every day to the brokerage firm where he worked, went to the gym after the market closed and was “remarkably healthy,” Cynthia says. She believes he would have lived a long time because he was in great shape.Courtesy of Cynthia Straus"He was a ‘seize the day’ kind of guy. … He liked to be out in the world,” Cynthia says. “If there was something going on, he wanted to be there.“The last time she spoke to her uncle was on the Saturday before he died. She had a few questions about the stock market. He promised to call her back first thing Tuesday with answers.“Regardless of his age and that he lived a good life, no one should die this way. No one,” Cynthia says. “There is a war going on in this country. There’s an internal war going on in this country, and the enemy is within. We’re turning on ourselves and this has to stop. This violence has to stop.”
Stephen Straus with his son, Jon.Photo: Courtesy of Cynthia Straus
It has been two weeks sincea shooter opened fire at a 4th of July parade in Highland Park., Ill., killing seven people and injuring dozens more. According to the family of Stephen Straus, an 88-year-old financial advisor who was murdered that day, the grief remains overwhelming.“It doesn’t get better as the days go on,” his niece Cynthia Straus tells PEOPLE.“The shock is wearing off, and the reality is setting in,” she adds. “And we will live with this for the rest of our lives.“Cynthia says her uncle was “very loved” and remembers him as an extremely patient and funny man who regularly attended the symphony and enjoyed The Art Institute of Chicago.He talked on the phone with his brother, Cynthia’s father, multiple times a day, and leaves behind two sons, four grandchildren and his wife of 60 years.“He was just an all around good guy,” Cynthia remembers. “He took care of a lot of people. He was a big oak sheltering his own.“Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.His family has set up aGoFundMewhere they called Stephen “a gentleman in every sense of the word.“Before his death, Stephen took the train downtown every day to the brokerage firm where he worked, went to the gym after the market closed and was “remarkably healthy,” Cynthia says. She believes he would have lived a long time because he was in great shape.Courtesy of Cynthia Straus"He was a ‘seize the day’ kind of guy. … He liked to be out in the world,” Cynthia says. “If there was something going on, he wanted to be there.“The last time she spoke to her uncle was on the Saturday before he died. She had a few questions about the stock market. He promised to call her back first thing Tuesday with answers.“Regardless of his age and that he lived a good life, no one should die this way. No one,” Cynthia says. “There is a war going on in this country. There’s an internal war going on in this country, and the enemy is within. We’re turning on ourselves and this has to stop. This violence has to stop.”
It has been two weeks sincea shooter opened fire at a 4th of July parade in Highland Park., Ill., killing seven people and injuring dozens more. According to the family of Stephen Straus, an 88-year-old financial advisor who was murdered that day, the grief remains overwhelming.
“It doesn’t get better as the days go on,” his niece Cynthia Straus tells PEOPLE.
“The shock is wearing off, and the reality is setting in,” she adds. “And we will live with this for the rest of our lives.”
Cynthia says her uncle was “very loved” and remembers him as an extremely patient and funny man who regularly attended the symphony and enjoyed The Art Institute of Chicago.
He talked on the phone with his brother, Cynthia’s father, multiple times a day, and leaves behind two sons, four grandchildren and his wife of 60 years.
“He was just an all around good guy,” Cynthia remembers. “He took care of a lot of people. He was a big oak sheltering his own.”
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
His family has set up aGoFundMewhere they called Stephen “a gentleman in every sense of the word.”
Before his death, Stephen took the train downtown every day to the brokerage firm where he worked, went to the gym after the market closed and was “remarkably healthy,” Cynthia says. She believes he would have lived a long time because he was in great shape.
Courtesy of Cynthia Straus
“He was a ‘seize the day’ kind of guy. … He liked to be out in the world,” Cynthia says. “If there was something going on, he wanted to be there.”
The last time she spoke to her uncle was on the Saturday before he died. She had a few questions about the stock market. He promised to call her back first thing Tuesday with answers.
“Regardless of his age and that he lived a good life, no one should die this way. No one,” Cynthia says. “There is a war going on in this country. There’s an internal war going on in this country, and the enemy is within. We’re turning on ourselves and this has to stop. This violence has to stop.”
source: people.com
