Phyllis Sauer, age 87, of Valley City, ND, died Saturday, September 28th at Mercy Hospital in Valley City. A funeral mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM Friday, October 11th at St. Catherine’s Catholic Church in Valley City. Visitation will be held on Thursday, October 10th from 6:00 PM until 7:00 PM at the Lerud Mathias Funeral Home Chapel and one hour before the service at the church on Friday morning. A prayer service will be held at 7:00 PM Thursday evening at the funeral home. Interment will be in Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery near Sanborn, ND.
Phyllis Jeannine Sauer, daughter of William and Dorothy (McKinnon) Jansen, was born March 24, 1932, in Meadow Lake Township, N.D. She attended grade school and high school in Sanborn, N.D., graduating in 1950. She graduated from Valley City State College with a degree in elementary education in 1955. She married DuWayne Sauer on June 16, 1953, and they made their home on a farm south of Sanborn. Phyllis taught 4th grade at Washington School from 1968-1984. In the fall of 1984, she and DuWayne began spending winters in Sun City West, AZ, and summers in Valley City. She was an active volunteer at Del Webb Hospital in Sun City West and worked at the Westside Food Bank in Phoenix. She enjoyed delivering meals on wheels in Valley City during the summer.
Phyllis was a member of St. Catherine Catholic Church in Valley City and Our Lady of Lourdes in Sun City West. She took great pleasure in being an active grandmother, a competitive Pinochle-playing partner, an early Internet adopter and a contributing neighbor at her Landmark II residence.
Phyllis is survived by her husband, DuWayne; daughters Cindy Fitzner (Mark) and Carol Perkins (Jerry), both of Valley City; sons Tim (Kathy), Fairfax, Va.; Terry (Kim), Minneapolis; Jon (Shelly), The Woodlands, TX and James, Houston; sisters Dolores Kemmesat, Deer Lodge, MT, and Barbara Berg, Valley City; 12 grandchildren Ashley Bakkegard (Andy), West Fargo; Carly Willson (Mike), Fargo; Dan Fitzner, Bismarck; Katie Sauer, Escondido, CA; Beret Claire Sauer, Minneapolis; Drew Sauer (Marissa), Devin Sauer and Cameron Sauer, all of Houston, Connor Sauer (Makayla), Midland, TX; Brittany Schaan (Adam), Mapleton, ND, Cassidy Wendler, Bloomington, IN, and Michael Wendler, Fargo; seven great-grandchildren Brynn, Norah and Hadley Bakkegard; Jase and Braeley Willson; Emma Sauer and Hudson Schaan.
She was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Bill Jansen.