'A good, quiet leader': Former Mesa Mayor Don Strauch dies at 89

• Former Mesa Mayor, Councilman and state Rep. Don Strauch died this month at age 89
• Those who knew him described Strauch as a "thinker" and a "class act"

In the days before his death, 89-year-old Don Strauch learned the name and background of every nurse and assistant who cared for him — including a thorough dive into at least one assistant's thoughts on immigration.

Once a politician, always a politician.

But Strauch, who died in Scottsdale on Jan. 11 after complications from a fall, wasn't a stereotypical schmoozing, wheeling-and-dealing politico. During his time on the Mesa City Council from 1972 to 1978, as Mesa mayor from 1980 to 1984 and as a state representative from 1987 to 1988, he was unfailingly polite, even-keeled and positive, according to those who knew him.

"He was a very, very smart person. Very intelligent, and his thoughts were excellent," said Wayne Pomeroy, who preceded Strauch as mayor and kept in touch with him long after. "But he wasn't in it for his name to be mentioned. He was just a good, quiet leader who could inspire people without going overboard."

As mayor, Strauch was instrumental in negotiating the deal that convinced McDonnell Douglas, now Boeing Co., to locate near Falcon Field Airport, Pomeroy said. He launched the Sister Cities program in Mesa and worked to improve emergency-response times and library services. The U.S. 60 also was extended during his tenure.

“Don Strauch was mayor of Mesa at a very important time in our city," current Mayor John Giles said. "We were growing, fast, and he recognized the value of working together as a region to launch us forward."

Joanie Flatt, a Mesa community leader and longtime friend of Strauch's, agreed Strauch had "focused on what we could do for the city and the citizenry if we worked together.

"Don's legacy wasn't a building or an ordinance, but rather his ability to keep the city together at a time when folks from the John Birch Society" — a radically conservative right-wing advocacy group — "were trying to divide us and move the city to the far, far right," Flatt said.

He also "quietly but insistently" advocated for marginalized groups, according to nephew Pat Gilbert, who served on the Mesa Council in the 1990s.

When Strauch became mayor, for instance, the city cemetery had a "potter's field," a burial area for the impoverished and forgotten.

"He went about getting rid of the idea at the time that poor people or brown people should be in a different part of the cemetery than everyone else," Gilbert said. "That was very typical of the kind of work he did. He was one of those Republicans that believed in advancing the cause of civil rights, and that we all had a responsibility for creating a just and equitable society."

During his time in the Arizona House, Strauch voted for a paid Martin Luther King Jr. holiday for state workers. It was one of several contentious battles in the Legislature that pitted moderate Republicans against conservative Republicans — including the 1988 effort to impeach embattled Republican Gov. Evan Mecham, which Strauch supported despite the subsequent backlash.

Strauch held onto his optimism all the while, according to his daughter, Christy Strauch.

"It seems like everybody hates politicians and politics, and to them, it's all always dirty and terrible," she said. "But my dad never looked at it like that, so I didn't, either. Politics to me looked like a noble profession, like it was really worth doing."

After leaving the Legislature, Strauch continued to serve on community boards, commissions and non-profits. In 2003, he was inducted into the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame, for both his Army service in World War II and his civilian service. A self-professed "bean counter," he was still doing the bookkeeping for at least three organizations three weeks before he died, his daughter said.

"You know, there are all these old mayors that have given so much and then kind of ride off into the sunset," said Mesa Councilman Alex Finter. "I hope they realize, that (Strauch) realizes, how much this community appreciated him and how hard he worked."

Strauch is survived by Chris, his wife of 65 years; daughter Christy; and five nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held Sunday, Jan. 24 at 2 p.m. at Mesa Country Club, 660 W. Fairway Drive.