H EADLINES
Philanthropist Ione Apfelbaum Strauss Dies at 87
L OCA L
JESSE BERNSTEIN | JE STAFF
IONE APFELBAUM STRAUSS,
a longtime philanthropist and,
later in life, a journalist, died
on Oct. 1. She was 87.

The Coatesville native
donated substantial time and
support to local institutions
with missions both Jewish
and secular, giving quietly and
consistently for decades.

She led
fundraising eff orts at her alma mater, the
University of Pennsylvania,
where she was the fi rst woman
ever elected president of the
General Alumni Society,
elevating her to the board of
trustees. Strauss’ support for
the Herbert D. Katz Center
for Advanced Judaic Studies,
along with her leadership as
a member of the board of
overseers, was crucial to its
early successes, according to
the center’s longtime leader,
David Ruderman. She was
a member of the board of
overseers of the School of Arts
and Sciences, and a trustee of
the University of Pennsylvania
Press. She served as presi-
dent of the Delaware Valley
Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa
Society, and raised money for
the Annenberg Center for the
Performing Arts, among other
campaigns. And her support for the
Jewish Federation of Greater
Philadelphia kept her in touch
with a family tradition going
back to her great-uncle.

“My mother was the type
of person who really cared
about other people, more
than anything else,” said her
daughter, Louise Strauss,
herself a trustee of Harcum
College, where her father was
once a trustee as well.

Ione Apfelbaum was the
only daughter of Hortense
and Louis Apfelbaum, whose
names are memorialized in a
fellowship at the Katz Center.

Her unique name, Ione, was
an attempt to name her after
her grandfather, Isaac.

Strauss attended Scott
Senior High School in
Coatesville, where she devel-
oped her interest in Judaism
and politics that persisted into
adulthood. She and her family
attended services each Shabbat
at Beth Israel Congregation
(now located in Eagle, with
the addendum “of Chester
County”), and she lit candles
each Friday for the rest of her
life. She was confi rmed at Beth
Israel, and attended Sunday
See Strauss, Page 24
Name: Human Good c/o Mayo Seitz
Width: 9.25 in
Depth: 5.5 in
Color: Black plus one
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Ione Apfelbaum Strauss
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OCTOBER 15, 2020
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