William "Bill" Floyd Sauter
July 08, 2020
William “Bill” Floyd Sauter passed away peacefully at Wawota’s Deerview Lodge on July 8, 2020. Bill was born on the family farm near Fairlight, SK, on March 14, 1930 to Floyd and Bessie Sauter. Bill was enthusiastic about sports as a youngster and reminisced fondly of his ball playing days. In 1953 Bill married Leafa Taylor of Welwyn and they had three boys. Their life was filled with farming, baseball, hockey, community bingos, curling bonspiels and dances. Bill had a progressive attitude that made him a driving force in his community and later in politics. He was the president of the NFU and even ran locally for the NDP in 1984. Following Leafa’s passing in 1990, Bill continued to farm until 1995 and later moved into Fairlight in 2001. Again, Bill was very community orientated, working the “Drop In”, cutting grass, and aiding friends and neighbours with whatever odd job/task they may have had. Bill rarely missed morning coffee at either Fairway Sales or the grain-elevator to be sure he was up-to-speed on all the latest news. In 2004 he met Joyce Lee of Moose Jaw, a friend of his sister’s and an avid square dancer, and she stole his heart. They were married in 2007 and the years that followed blessed them with travel to places like Mexico, Ireland and Scotland, dances, church gatherings, cards, and the wealth of joy. Once settled in Moose Jaw, Bill was able to soothe his farming itch and became involved in the Moose Jaw Community Gardens. He enjoyed teaching “the young folk” about growing food and seeing the relief it provided to families in need. His health first began to decline in 2012 and he was given a diagnosis of cancer, but was determined to maintain his routine and involvement with his community even through the treatment journey he was about to embark on. Bill and Joyce were involved in their church and community until summer 2019 when they made the difficult decision to leave their condo and move to an assisted living facility in Moose Jaw. Bill’s health declined rapidly, and in May he made the heavy-hearted choice to move to Deerview Lodge to be closer to family, though his heart remained with Joyce in Moose Jaw. In his short time there he impacted all he met. The staff boasted of his charm and gratitude, and he made efforts to teach his great-grandson the important lessons of life: how to properly tie a double Windsor knot, friends who are girls are good to have, but make sure they are always happy, and you are surrounded by love and that’s something to smile about.
Bill is survived and remembered by his wife, Joyce, sister, Shirley (Bill) Gould, eldest son, Dean, daughter-in-law, Darla, grandchildren, Karl (Kristine) Sauter, Kat Sauter and great-grandson, Cagen Sauter.
He was predeceased by his wife, Leafa (1990), and sons, Leon (2009) and Scott (2017).
In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Moose Jaw and District Food Bank, St. Andrews United Church (Moose Jaw) and Fairlight Drop-In.
A graveside service will be held at a later date. Arrangements are entrusted to Carscadden Funeral Chapel, Moosomin, SK. www.carscaddenfuneralchapel.com
