Obituary
Eugene Robert “Bob” Sauer, of The Villages, Florida, passed away peacefully at age 82 this January 24th following a prolonged illness.
A bright, loving and dedicated husband, brother, grandfather, businessperson, volunteer, gardener and golfer, Bob was born to Eugene and Madeline Sauer in Orange, New Jersey. After graduating from Seton Hall Preparatory School in 1958, Bob went on to study Mathematics at Hoboken’s Stevens Institute of Technology, and then earned a Masters Degree in Business there as well.
Armed with an exemplary education, Bob landed his very first job at IBM, leading to a 25 year career in IT. Following this, Bob joined the sales and marketing team at AT&T, where he rose to Vice President of Sales and Marketing for their Northeastern Region (his division then became Lucent Technologies in 1996.)
Meanwhile, outside of work, Bob met Eleanor (Ellie) at her nursing school’s 1961 Valentine’s Day dance –– and the rest was romantic history! Bob and Ellie were married and went on to have two lovely children, Jennifer and Kevin.
Following his tenure at AT&T and Lucent, Bob retired…sort of. Incapable of sitting still, Bob ‘un-retired’ to kickstart a three year career in executive coaching. Finally, settling into retirement once again, Bob decided, at age 56, to take up tae kwon do, achieving a 5th degree black belt and a first degree Karate black belt on top of that.
Relocating with Ellie to Daniel Island, South Carolina in 2005, Bob’s life only grew busier. In addition to a ‘retirement career’ as an enthusiastic golfer, he became highly involved with his community: leveraging his love of gardening to found a volunteer group tending to all the right of way oaks on Daniel Island. Additionally, he, along with some friends, began Angels for Education, a supportive reading program for elementary school children in the Charleston area. And, for many years, he also managed to volunteer his time to work with children at MUSC.
Bob is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Ellie; daughter, Jennifer; brother, Ronald; grandchild, Zoey; niece, Erika, and nephew, Michael; sister-in-law Terre and son-in-law Ross, as well as beloved cousins, god-children, and dear friends.
Services will be held locally in The Villages. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the American Lung Association or the American Heart Association.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Baldwin Brothers Funeral & Cremation Society, Heritage Place Chapel, Wildwood Florida. Online Condolences as well as fond memories may be left for the Sauer family by visiting www.baldwincremation.com
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