Donald J. Sauers

Donald J. Sauers, age 90, died peacefully in Lancaster, PA, on June 4th, 2013. Born January 15, 1923, in Uniontown, PA, he was the eighth of nine children born to Katherine and Lawrence Sauers. He was graduated from St. Vincent Prep in Latrobe, PA, and also received a B.A. from St. Vincent College, from which he carried with great pride its Benedictine heritage of education and scholarship. He also attended Rollins College and Villanova University. Don’s college education was interrupted by service in WWII when he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943. He proudly served as a 2nd Lieutenant and flew 19 combat missions as a B-24 navigator in the South Pacific between 1944-45. After resuming his studies and graduating from college, Don started his career in advertising in New York in the mail room of Sullivan, Stauffer, Colwell and Bayles. He quickly channeled his creative spirit into the job and spent the next forty years in a progression of roles from copy writer to Group Creative Head, Creative Director, and President at top ad agencies. In 1954 he authored The Girl Watcher’s Guide, published by Harper & Bros. with cartoons by Eldon Dedini. He was profiled in Sports Illustrated and was a guest on several TV shows, including The Tonight Show, Ernie Kovacs, Who Do You Trust, What’s My Line, and To Tell the Truth. In 1967 he co-authored with Marjorie Morris And/Or, a photographic exploration with text of contrasting images of war and peace. Robert F. Kennedy provided a jacket quote, “This deeply moving book demonstrates more clearly than most written words the anomalous and tragic inconsistencies of our time.” In 1968 he and his good friend, Tom Nieporte, a regular player on the PGA tour and longtime Winged Foot Head Pro in Westchester, New York, authored Mind Over Golf. And in 1992 his book Time for America, the illustrated history of the Hamilton Watch Company, was published by Sutter House. Watch and Clock Review declared, “This book must be called brilliant, a seminal work of non-fiction in a field that has lain barren for decades.” Don was a modern Renaissance man whose restless creativity took many forms. He developed a group of sculptures that he named Duäge, each of which represented contrasting but complementary actions and forms. In 1974 he won a national competition sponsored by Sports Illustrated to invent a fantasy game to be played in outer space. His prize was an all-expense-paid trip to Super Bowl IX in New Orleans, which was won by the Steelers. He had a subtle and sweet sense of humor and a gentle nature. There were comedy records at home that he played til they wore out – Bob Newhart, Jonathan Winters, Mel Brooks, and Carl Reiner. And his sports heroes, like Roberto Clemente, shared an unflashy understated strength. Don loved jazz, Matisse, Montauk, baseball, and donuts, but nothing and no one more than his wife and the love of his life of 66 years, Martha (McHugh) Sauers who survives him, as well as his five children: Mary Sauers and her husband, Tony Frantz; Christine Kwong and her husband, Joe Kwong; Joan Sauers; John Sauers and his wife, Colleen Daly; and Polly Lauer and her husband, Craig Lauer; and six grandchildren: Caitlin, Lily, Ruby, Huck, Ryan, and Edie. Don was predeceased by his eight siblings: Larry, Bud, Bill, Agnes, Rita, Peg, Betty, and Claire. There will be a Funeral Mass on Saturday, June 22, 2013, at 11 a.m. at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, 558 West Walnut Street, Lancaster. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Donald’s memory to Hospice & Community Care, PO Box 4125, Lancaster, PA 17604-4125 (www.hospicecommunity.org). Private family interment.

Donald J. Sauers

June 4, 2013