RETIRED PRINCIPAL STRASBURG DIES.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

Longtime Tumbleweed School principal and Palmdale historian Fred Strasburg has died after battling a rare form of brain cancer. He was 55.

Strasburg, who came to Palmdale at age 4, had been a Palmdale teacher and school administrator for 27 years, as principal at Tumbleweed from 1980 until he went on leave last year due to his illness.

``We are really going to miss him. There's a lot of sad people today because of Fred's passing,'' said Palmdale School District Superintendent Nancy Smith. ``He was always a sweet man who had great ideas. He was a person who could think outside the box.''

Strasburg is survived by his wife, Patti, and two children, Fritz and Anna, Smith said.

The family will hold a celebration of Strasburg's life from 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday at their home at 39710 Country Club Drive. Smith said it will be an open house for people to visit.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that people contribute to the Fred Strasburg Memorial Grant fund, which will go toward the education of children.

The school district will display a tribute to Strasburg in the district office's front lobby. It will include photographs of Strasburg and students in an antique showcase that he donated to the district.

``Between the history of Palmdale and Tumbleweed School, he had so many activities that meant so much to a lot of people. We are trying to portray that as best we can,'' said Smith, who knew Strasburg for 16 years and whose three children had Strasburg as a principal at Tumbleweed.

Strasburg also will be remembered on the school district's Web site, Smith said.

Smith said she remembers Strasburg for his tenaciousness in getting what he wanted for his students. His school was the first in the district to have every classroom wired for the Internet in 1995.

He got people to donate time and materials because he thought technology was the way of the future, Smith said.

``Fred was an idea person. Once he had an idea, he would come up with ways to get it for the kids at school. If there was a roadblock, he would find a way around it. If he ran into a lack of money, he would get people to donate,'' Smith recalled. ``He wouldn't take no for an answer.''

Strasburg took a leave from his job last year and had undergone chemotherapy and drug treatments.

He served as Palmdale's historian and donated his collection of old newspapers, more than 200 maps, 250 to 300 books and more than 150 photographs to the city library in 1997. Dedication of the Strasburg Family Antelope Valley History Room is tentatively scheduled for April 9.

A longtime resident who came to Palmdale in 1948 with his family at age 4, Strasburg started collecting Antelope Valley artifacts in the late 1970s. His mother was a school nurse.

``An accident and a hobby turned out to be a compulsion or a compassion and it turns out to be a runaway train,'' Strasburg told the Daily News in an interview in December 1997.

The collection was described as one of the most comprehensive compilations of local history in California.

Strasburg purchased a large portion of his library and photo collection from longtime Antelope Valley residents Glen and Dorene Settle, who preserved old photographs, books, maps, mining journals and other memorabilia dating to the 1800s.

Strasburg also purchased some of the artifacts from bookstores and clubs.

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PHOTO (Color) Fred Strasburg

Longtime educator