Louise Murray Strander
February 5, 1928 - October 21, 2011
Obituary
LOUISE M. STRANDER
Louise Murray Strander, longtime Tukwila resident, passed away on October 21, 2011 after a long illness. Louise was born on February 5, 1928 in New York City, to George W. Murray and Sarah Louise Murray. Louise grew up in Franklin, Pennsylvania and Pleasantville, New York. She attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where she met John B. Strander. They married in 1948, and she joined John as he returned to the Strander family home in Foster (now Tukwila), Washington, to pursue a career as a landscape architect and nurseryman. From then until 1966, Louise helped her husband operate Strander Evergreen Nurseries, later Strander’s Tukwila Garden Center. Louise served on the South Central School Board from 1954 to 1958. Her visibility in the Tukwila community increased when her husband John served as Mayor of Tukwila from 1962 to 1967. She and John were part of Tukwila’s first Sister City delegation to Ikawa (now Miyoshi), Japan, in 1981. Louise served as President of the South King County Historical Society and was an active member of the Tukwila Historical Society. She was also an active member of the Foster Study Club from 1949 until its dissolution in 2006. She consistently supported opera, ballet and repertory theatre in Seattle. She was Board President of the Tukwila/SeaTac Chamber of Commerce (now the Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce). During the mid-1980’s, Louise, along with other members of the Tukwila community, helped found the National Bank of Tukwila, where she served as Board Chair and as a Board Member. Louise was preceded in death by her husband in 1998. She is survived by her brother Cameron (Valerie) Murray, daughter Louise Strander, sons George (Bindu) Strander and John Strander, grandchildren Sumita and Vikram, nephews Grant Murray and Craig (Sara) Murray, grandnephew Aidan and grandniece Alison. A viewing will be held on Friday, October 28, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, 158 South 168th Street, Burien, WA 98148, with a service at 11:00 a.m. The interment will follow at Washington Memorial Park & Mortuary, 16445 International Boulevard, SeaTac, WA 98188. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Louise’s memory to Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, the Tukwila Historical Society or PAWS.
Praise be to God for the great joy of ministering with Louise Strander. She was a valuable member of our congregation and a wonderful friend. Praise God for taking her home to be with her beloved husband. Shalom
My heart goes out to Louise Strander’s family. She surely will be missed by her Tukwila City Hall friends.