Vivian Maxine Strauss was born on August 24, 1945 in Denver, CO to Oscar and Gisela Strauss, and passed away on September 21, 2008, in Santa Rosa, CA of endometrial cancer.
Vivian was raised in Eugene, OR and stayed in Eugene until the completion of her bachelor’s degree at the University of Oregon in 1967. She then moved to California, where she attended Stanford University and graduated as a Registered Physical Therapist in 1968. Vivian provided physical therapy services in San Francisco and Boston prior to her work in Sonoma County. Once in Sonoma County, Vivian worked as an on-call physical therapist for Memorial Hospital, partnered with Sandra Karas in Karas and Frye Physical Therapy, and was employed by Chuck Harris Physical Therapy, Health South Physical Therapy and Healdsburg Physical Therapy.
Vivian and Dr. Stephen H. Frye were married from 1970 to 2004. They moved to Santa Rosa in 1978. An active member of Congregation Beth Ami for more than 35 years, Vivian co-founded the Beth Ami Community Nursery School in 1979 and was a longtime member of Hadassah. Vivian enjoyed attending concerts of the Santa Rosa Symphony, participating in school and extracurricular activities with her children, and taking walks around Spring Lake with local friends and visitors from out of town. Vivian was a natural communicator, an excellent listener, and despite her illness, Vivian vigilantly maintained her extensive network of close relationships with family and friends across the world. This group of people, along with an excellent medical support team, helped Vivian throughout her courageous battle against cancer.
Vivian is survived by her sons, Brian L. Frye of New York City and Michael R. Frye of Oakland, CA; sister Barbara Strauss Philleo of Lake Chapala, Mexico; and brother Ronald H. Strauss of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Natalie Simon Weil. October 16, 1913-September 24, 2008. Natalie Weil, an extraordinary mother, devoted friend and dedicated teacher, has died at the age of 94.
Natalie was a fourth-generation San Franciscan, the daughter of Adele and Richard Simon and sister of Arthur Simon. She attended Girls High School, U.C. Berkeley and the Central Institute for the Deaf.
Inspired by her mother’s pioneering effort to educate her deaf son, Natalie became a teacher of deaf children in Marin County and an ardent advocate of oral training for deaf children. She taught her young students to read lips and to speak, opening doors for them to the hearing world.
When Natalie retired from teaching, she
continued to pursue her many interests and enthusiasms, including service as a CASA Volunteer. She loved hiking the Marin hills with friends who called themselves the Blue Panters. In her last years, Natalie thrived in the warmth of caregivers at Villa Marin.
A woman of grace, intelligence and gentle dynamism, Natalie was upbeat and funny with a gift for coining original expressions. With her late husband of 52 years, Simon J. Weil, she shared a wonderful circle of family and friends.
Her children Rick (Susan), John (Jane), Phil (Bonnie) and Janet (Craig) will remember Natalie with profound love. She will be deeply missed by her grandchildren Chloe, Lindsay, Elaine, Daniel and Brett, and by her four great grandchildren.
The family requests that donations be sent to the Jean Weingarten Peninsula School for the Oral Deaf, 3518 Jefferson Ave., Redwood City, CA 94062, c/o “JWPOSD/Weil Scholarship Fund.”