Kirk Von Sauer

Kirk Von Sauer, 48 of Kootenai, passed away Friday, Jan. 22, 2010 at Bonner General Hospital, after a long, courageous battle with cancer. He was a loving husband, father, son, brother and friend. Kirk was born October 3, 1961 in Missoula, MT, to Patricia and Darold Sauer. The family moved back to Sandpoint in 1965 in order to manage the Ben Franklin Store in town. They later bought a ranch in Sagle, ID where Kirk and his two brothers grew up tending cattle, mending fences, bucking bales, and all of the other tasks on the farm. Kirk was involved with 4-H and often told tales of the award winning cattle he had raised. He reminisced about the years spent on the ranch often saying how he loved every minute of it, especially stories of all the trouble he and his brothers used to get themselves into. In his teen years he worked for the neighbors bringing in hay for ten cents a bale. This tale was used quite frequently when his kids told him they did not want to do the menial household chores. While in high school, Kirk worked for Terry Cravens as an apprentice where he learned the trade of taxidermy. One of his favorite memories from this time was when he and Terry would forego work to go fishing instead. Kirk spent a large part of his life in the woods logging for Shorty Blood and Sauer Logging with his brothers. He loved the time spent in the woods and told countless stories about the adventures they had whether it be dealing with curious wildlife that made working difficult such as the occasional bear or angry moose. He also enjoyed the times when they would take a break from work to fill a hunting tag before finishing up for the day. Kirk’s last endeavor before his health problems interfered was working with Tony Lowery doing construction. He loved building and working with his hands in his own woodshop at home and created many beautiful things. Kirk always said that no matter what he was doing, he learned something new every day. His family meant everything to him. Kirk doted on his three children and was very proud of all their accomplishments. He was forever taking in his children’s close friends as his own “adopted” kids. Kirk loved everything to do with the outdoors whether it be hunting, fishing, huckleberry picking, or camping. In the summer the family spent the majority of the time at Sunnyside picnicking and swimming. He also loved to host family barbeques for the 4th of July where water balloon fights and ultimate badminton were a way of life. In the children’s younger years most Saturday’s were spent on the soccer fields watching them play. Kirk once drove all night across the state of Montana in order to make it home by game time. He is survived by his wife Kathy, children, Jessica, Janelle and Luke Schramm, Justin Sauer, Grizzly, the family dog, and two “adopted” daughters Jennifer Lund and Heather Runge. He is also survived by his parents, Darold and Patricia Sauer, mother-in-law Edna Wilhelm, brothers Craig (Patricia) Sauer, Jordan and Jared Sauer, sister Nicole (Eli) Skalak, brother-in-laws Randy Wilhelm and Tracy (Heather) Wilhelm, and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and close friends. He was preceded in death by his grandparents Darold and Mildred Sauer, Jim and Pearl April, brother Rick Sauer, Aunt Naomi Townsend, uncle Bill Tullos, cousin Tim Townsend, father-in-law Richard Wilhelm, and “adopted” daughters Caroline Sater and Tara Ann Tuchon. Please join family and friends to celebrate his life on Saturday, January 30, at the VFW Hall located on the corner of Pine and Division in Sandpoint at 1:00 p.m.