Anaheim Activist Dies at 72
Curtis Stricker, a longtime Anaheim community activist, has died from complications of a stroke. He was 72.
An Iowa native, he attended Iowa State University and made his career in marketing. He moved to Anaheim 30 years ago with his family and bought a home near Disneyland.
When Walt Disney Co. began making plans in recent years to expand in Anaheim, Stricker became an advocate for homeowners’ rights and an opponent of the company’s proposal. Despite two unsuccessful runs for City Council, he remained a crusader for community causes.
“One of the biggest concerns of his life was bettering life for the people of Anaheim,” his daughter, Sharon Bleim, said Monday. “It was his mission.”
In 1988 he co-founded Anaheim HOME, an acronym for Homeowners Maintaining their Environment. The grass-roots organization lobbied against use of public funds for corporate expansion such as Disney’s.
Family members said Stricker suffered a massive stroke Saturday morning and died Monday afternoon.
In addition to daughter Bleim, Stricker is survived by his wife, Anna Mae Stricker, to whom he was married for 52 years; a son and two grandchildren.
A memorial service is set for 1 p.m. Thursday at Dimond and Sons Mettler Mortuary, 10630 Chapman Ave., Garden Grove.
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