Elaine Mossberger Straub, a surgeon who lived in Inverness since the early ’70s, died on April 21 at age 83. Known for her independence, humor and adventurous spirit, Elaine traveled the world after she retired from her post as chief of outpatient surgery at Kaiser Terra Linda. Often she went on photo excursions, on her own or with groups.
Elaine was born in Loma Linda, California, in 1935 and grew up in Denver, Colo. She had a sister, Carol Jordan, and a brother, Robert Mossberger, who, like their father, worked in medicine. She went to the University of Denver, where she studied medicine, then moved to Los Angeles, where she met her husband, Dwight.
Robert, five years her junior, remembers his sister as tough. “She ruled the roost,” he said. “I was afraid of her as a kid, but she was a wonderful sister. She was very protective of me.”
Robert said she was tough in her career, too. “She had to deal with a lot of male egos in her profession,” he said.
In the ‘80s, Elaine and Dwight, a pathologist for the City of San Francisco, were often found with “The Seahaven Gang,” a group of residents who liked to play games, talk and generally have a good time. The friends showed up at each other’s doors, had dinners together and just hung out talking, joking, and sometimes going deeper about life and its challenges, friend Jennifer Nichols said.
“Bill Campbell was our resident philosopher, Ruth Campbell was a trustworthy font of wisdom and good advice, Elaine—as well as Dick Fine—were our trusted sources of medical wisdom, serious, responsible and warm in responding to our queries and complaints,” Jennifer said. “Margo Wing was a neighborhood saint, looking in on all who needed it and Bob Wing was leading us into the engineering side of environmentalism, building his own electric vehicles to show us how it could be.”
“And Elaine was a listener,” she added. “A laugher, and a sly but warm quipper.”
Sue Van Der Wal met Elaine at a photography seminar in the early ’90s. “She really enjoyed photography,” Sue said. “She was a very outgoing, a very friendly, person. She would strike up a conversation with just about anybody.”
Sue and Elaine took a few trips together over the years, up to Lake County and to the Mono Lake area, all to explore and take photos.
Also a cat lover, Elaine took in strays, at times caring for as many as six or seven cats. She put a sign by the front door that read “Cat House,” Sue said. “She had a great sense of humor.”
Elaine was very active, regularly going to the gym and studying tai chi with Bing Gong. “She was a dedicated student,” he said. “She came every week for 10 years.”
Kathleen Morgan was a friend of Elaine’s since 2011, when she and her husband moved into her family home next door to Elaine, whom she saw several times a week. “She would go to Perry’s in the morning for coffee on her way to her various activities,” Kathleen said. “On her way home, she would stop in for a cup of tea.” Elaine was very fond of Simon, the Morgans’ Great Pyrenees. “She would always bring him a treat and often had some gift for us,” she said. “She was so thoughtful.”
A celebration of Elaine Straub’s life will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 10, at the Dance Palace Community Center.