Austra Strautmanis

Austra Strautmanis, loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend, passed away on January 25, 2025. She was born on June 24, 1939 in Valmiera, Latvia.

Austra’s family became political refugees as Russian communists approached Latvia in October, 1944. They sought refuge in Displaced Persons Camps in Germany. Through the International Refugee Organization, the family found sponsors in the United States. Austra along with her parents and grandmother immigrated to this country in 1950. After a few years of working as farm help, Austra’s parents bought a small house with plenty of land for farming and gardening in New Berlin, Wisconsin.

Austra attended Waukesha High School where her friends gave her the nickname ‘Blondie.’ She graduated high school in 1957, and soon thereafter met her husband to be at a Latvian Saturday night dance. Valdis and Austra were married on December 12, 1959 by Valdis’s father, who was a Latvian Lutheran minister. The newlyweds settled in Waukesha where they started a family of their own and raised three children.

Austra was an active member of the Milwaukee Latvian community. She loved to make ethnic baked goods such as tortes, aboļkūkas, piparkūkas, and other pastries. She was also a wonderful cook preparing Latvian dishes and other cuisines. Austra and Valdis truly enjoyed traveling which entailed camping across the U.S. in national and state parks, visiting European countries including Latvia, and sailing on several cruises.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Karlis and Olga Liepins, her brother, Imants Liepins, and her devoted husband of 58 years, Valdis Strautmanis. She is survived by her three children, Anita Strautmanis, Edvins Strautmanis (De Johnson), and Ivars Strautmanis; four grandchildren, Edwin Strautmanis (Lisa Granier), Andra Berzins, Katie Betz (Cory), and Amanda Berzins; and five great grandchildren, Jack, Hudson, Charlotte, Gordon, and Vivian.

A funeral service for Austra will be held on February 3, 2025, at Cesarz, Charapata & Zinnecker Funeral Home located at 237 N. Moreland Blvd, Waukesha, WI 53188. Visitation will begin at 10:00 am, followed by a service at 11:00 am. Interment will take place immediately after the service at Prairie Home Cemetery in Waukesha. A fellowship will follow the internment. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha.