James Carl Strelow

James Carl Strelow, age 87 of Fountain Valley, died on Tuesday, February 25, 2020, 1:30pm at Fountain Valley Board and Care in Fountain Valley, California from heart failure after a steady decline over the preceding weeks.

James was born May 8, 1932 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the Great Depression, to James William Strelow and Mabel Francis Prince. His father worked as a migrant carpenter and the family would at times live in the tent camps that were unfortunately common in that era. Eventually they ended up back in the suburbs of Detroit, along with his sister Marjorie who was two years younger.

As a child, James grew up dreaming of airplanes and rockets which culminated in his pursuit of a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Michigan State University. After graduating in 1956, he went to work for North American Rockwell in Columbus, Ohio. However, while in college, his alma mater, Michigan State, played UCLA twice in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, which introduced James to the warmer climate and developing opportunities of Southern California. So, shortly after marrying Ellen Eugenia “Gena” Larson in 1959, he transferred to the Rockwell facility in Downey, California; eventually settling in a new suburban tract home in Fountain Valley in 1965. As a Packaging Engineer for Rockwell, he was responsible for ensuring that the various parts of the spacecraft were moved around safely. Notably, he also designed a First Aid Kit for one of the Apollo capsules that eventually went it into space. After about twelve years, the Apollo program began to wind down. So, in the early 70’s he made a midcareer shift away from the world of aerospace to start his own business in book and media wholesales. He operated his company, Christian Media International, for some 30 years until his eventual retirement.

While never straying from his midwestern, button-down disposition, he was, curiously, an early supporter and admirer of the proverbial little country church on the edge of Santa Ana led by pastor Chuck Smith--Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. Initially attended by only a few hundred people, it quickly grew exponentially into a bohemian counter-cultural movement that spread throughout the country inspiring what became known as Contemporary Christian Music. On the forefront of these cultural developments, James established himself as one of the first distributors of Maranatha Music. His emotional ties to these moments of history were very strong even in his later years, and his only funerary request was to be buried near Chuck Smith at Fairhaven Cemetery.

James is survived by his wife Gena and four children—James II, Thomas, Julie, and Angela—and five grandchildren—Joseph, Jordyn, Cameron, Kevan, and Kian—as well as his son-in-law, Moe, and daughter-in-law, Sharyn.

He was preceded in death by his parents, James and Mabel, and sister, Marjorie.

Family services will be held at Waverley Chapel in the Fairhaven Memorial Park and Mortuary in Santa Ana, California on March 1, 2020 at 12pm.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.fairhavenmemorial.com for the Strelow family.