Necrology

George William Sauer '53

May. 31, 1931-Nov. 20, 2003

George William Sauer ’53, an industrial design engineer, grew up in Port Jervis, NY, where he was born on May 31, 1931. The son of George C., for many years postmaster of Port Jervis, and Gladys Hawkins Sauer, he came to College Hill in 1949 from Port Jervis High School. Unusually youthful in appearance and with “an ability to get along with anyone, anywhere, anytime,” George Sauer gained recognition by The Hamiltonian (of which he was the art editor) as “one of the wisest of the milk punch party philosophers.” With an artist’s eye, he also took greater note of campus architecture and landscaping than did most students. A member of ELS, he was graduated with honors in art in 1953.

Soon after leaving the Hill, George Sauer found himself fulfilling a two-year obligation to the U.S. Army. As an artilleryman he served in Korea and was discharged as a corporal in 1955. Two years later, he was married to Jean Marie Suderley. In 1960, having obtained an M.F.A. degree in industrial design from the University of Illinois, he began his career with International Design, Inc., in Poughkeepsie, NY. He moved on in 1964 to Automatic Systems Developers, Inc., also in Poughkeepsie, as a mechanical design coordinator, and became its senior design engineer. From 1988 until his retirement in 1995, he served as a design engineering consultant with Johnson & Williams, Inc., in Pleasant Valley, NY.

An accomplished artist working in a variety of media, including oils, prints, ceramics, and photography, George Sauer was also a dedicated gardener. Early in their marriage, he and his wife bought “a wreck of a home” in the Hudson Valley town of Milton for $6,000. They spent years remodeling it and adding a studio and greenhouse. Along the way they acquired a forest and lake near the house as well. Until his death, George Sauer devoted himself to nature conservation and especially restoring and preserving the historic properties adjacent to his home. For relaxation he avidly read, even managing to finish Finnegans Wake while in retirement.

George W. Sauer died unexpectedly on November 20, 2003, at his Milton home where he had resided for 40 years, of respiratory failure. Predeceased by his wife in 1998, he is survived by a sister, Linda Van Dien, and a nephew, Pieter G. Van Dien.

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