STRALSER, Harold Louis

Harold Louis Stralser, December 17th, 1920 - 4th, 2004. Harold's career spanned eight decades of American life - from the Great Depression to the info-tech dot-com era. He left college at the age of 19 to enlist in the Army Air Corps, where he became a flight navigator and Captain in the 8th Air Force and 381st bomb group stationed in Ridgeway, England. His crew, and its plane, the Romance, was only the third flight crew to finish all twenty-five missions flown over Europe during World War II. During his military service, he was awarded several medals and commendations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross. After returning from the war in 1945, he began his career in the furniture industry with Triangle Furniture in Detroit, Michigan. Harold's leadership capabilities were soon realized and in 1959, he was the General Manager of Mehagian's in Phoenix, Arizona. The 1960's took him to El Paso, Texas where he was the General Manager of the American Furniture Group and later, General Manager of American Furniture in Denver, Colorado. Throughout the 1970s, he was involved in the growth of Levitz Furniture and was a Senior Vice President and member of the Board of Directors. Throughout his career, Harold held numerous posts at various industry associations. The last decade was spent as an industry consultant, most recently at Walker Furniture in Las Vegas, Nevada. Harold's widow is Deanne and children, Larry Alterwitz, Darryl Alterwitz, Linda Alterwitz, and Aimee Alterwitz, grandchildren Kayleigh, Briney, Paul, Dylan, Hannah, Erin, Karly, Zoe, Jared, and Jason. He was pre-deceased by his first wife, Janice, with whom he had two children, Steven and Carol (Heiser), grandchildren Amy (Neiss), Marcy (Lewis), Lisa, Jennifer, and Scott, and great-grandchildren Harrison, Justin, Holly, and Noah. He was born to Joseph and Esther in Detroit, Michigan where he grew up with siblings Ruth (Stein), Dorothy (Brown), and Bernard. His nieces and nephews are Robert Stein, Marjorie Fuller, Geri Stein, Susan Lewis, Janis Wetsman, Margaret Bloch, Lucia Stralser, Thomas Stralser, James Stralser, and Kathe Stralser. Graveside Services were at Green Acres Cemetery, 401 N. Hayden Rd. Scottsdale Arizona on Wednesday April 7, 2004. A memorial service was held at Congregation Ner Tamid, 2761 Emerson Avenue Las Vegas Nevada on Friday April 9, 2004. In lieu of flowers, the family wishes a donation in Harold's name to Congregation Ner Tamid Building Fund, 2761 Emerson Avenue Las Vegas, NV 89121 or to the Jewish National Fund, 1-888-JNF-0099 or www.jnf.org Published in the Arizona Republic on 4/7/2004.