Among the seven victims of the mass shooting in Highland Park, Ill., shooting on July 4 was a 88-year-old veteran financial advisor, Stephen Straus.
Straus had worked for Stifel Nicolaus for the past 24 years, according to BrokerCheck. According to a report in the New York Times, he still commuted to his office in Chicago from Highland Park every day, well past the age most people retire. The Times added that Straus was the father of two children and had four grandchildren.
According to the online site for The Forward, Straus was a Chicago native whose family roots were in the Midwest and he painted as a hobby. The paper said Straus was survived by his wife, Linda.
According to his BrokerCheck page, Straus began working at investment banking house Glore Forgan Staats in 1968 and worked at a few other firms before starting a 24-year career at brokerage Rodman & Renshaw in 1974. He moved on to Stifel in 1998.
Prosecutors filed murder charges against 21-year-old Robert E. “Bobby” Crimo for the attack that killed seven and injured more than 30, according to the Chicago Tribune. Crimo is charged with firing into a crowd in Highland Park during a Fourth of July parade on Monday morning.
Stifel chairman and CEO Ron Kruszewski wrote the following on the company's website:
"It is with great sadness that I inform you Stephen Straus, a financial advisor in our Chicago office, was among the seven individuals killed in the tragic mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, on July 4.
"Steve began his career in 1968 and joined the Stifel family in 1998. He continued to serve his valued clients at age 88, not because he had to, but because he wanted to, commuting to the office each morning by train."
The firm also released a statement by Straus's niece, Cynthia Straus: "Steve looked out for the whole family," she said. "He was like a big, big oak tree, an umbrella of well-being for all of us. It’s a big loss."
Straus, said Kruszewski, "was always willing to share ideas--an ambassador of the office. He was kind and gentle, warm hearted, and had a great sense of humor. He will be missed by all. Our thoughts are with the Straus family, as well as with the families of the other victims."