John E. Sauer

John E. Sauer, age 64, went to be with his Lord and Savior, on Oct. 21, 2006.

John was born Feb. 19, 1942 in Ritzville to Emil and Lydia (Rott) Sauer. He spent his first 35 years living on the family farm in Lind. Upon his parents' retirement in 1977, he moved with them to Moses Lake, where he remained until moving into an assisted living facility and just the last five months to Sunbridge Care and Rehab Center.

John was born with cerebral palsy which plagued him all of his life and set many limitations and challenges for him. He never gave up and gave it his best in life to succeed. Despite his handicap, he knew no strangers and always had a happy-go-lucky disposition. He loved a good joke and told many good ones himself. He attracted friends and kept in contact with all of them. John had a brilliant mind and memory to be envied by all. John liked to be involved. He participated in crafts, music and singing, games, and outings, especially going fishing and even catching a few trips to the casino. He was interested in history, especially of horses and old cars. He leaves a void in many lives, but is now running and jumping with his new legs at his new home in heaven.

John is survived by three sisters: Alice (Gorden) Melcher; Barbara (Leroy) Lesser of Moses Lake; and Lois (Harold) Groh of Tulsa, Okla.; two nephews: Jeff (Heather) Melcher of Ritzville and Rodney (Jani) Melcher of Lind; two nieces: Noreen McTaggart and Valerie (Kent) Mitchell of Tulsa, Okla.; one great nephew Nathan Melcher of Ritzville and one great niece Alexis Melcher of Lind. He was preceded in death by his mother Lydia Sauer in 1984 and his father, Emil Sauer in 1994.

Funeral Services will be held on Thursday, Oct. 26, at 11a.m. at the Danekas Funeral Home, Ritzville, followed by vault internment at the Lind Cemetery. The family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Ombudsman program, c/o Louise Ryan, P.O. Box 23699 Federal Way, WA 98093-0699, or to the Sunbridge Care and Rehab Center, 1100 E. Nelson Rd., Moses Lake, WA 98837. Visitation will be held at the Danekas Funeral Home on Wednesday, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The family wishes to extend many thanks to the staff at Sunbridge Care and Rehab Center for the excellent care given to John for his special needs. You truly have done a job well done and we cannot thank you enough.