Suzanne Elizabeth Sautner

Suzanne E. Sautner, 89, of Spencer, went home to her Lord on Thursday, January 23, 2025 at The Waterford Assisted Living in Colby under the care of Heartland Hospice Services.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 AM on Friday, January 31, 2025 at Christ the King Catholic Church in Spencer with Rev. Barry Saylor officiating. She will be laid to rest alongside her husband in West Spencer Cemetery in the Town of Sherman. Family and friends are invited to gather at the church for a time of visitation from 9 AM until time of service.
Suzanne Elizabeth Graves (Sautner) began her days in the Sun in Ladysmith born to Ken and Bernice (Soles) Graves. At that time, she was the youngest of four children Spence, Fritz, Janet, and now little Suzy Q., to be later followed by two younger siblings Patricia and Michael.
Mom would relate to us an experience growing up in Lady Smith where her mother had warned them never to walk on the ice on the Flambeau River which passed through town. Yet it proved too tempting for her older siblings who led her one day on their daily walk to school to test their independent spirit. She said she did not know how they made it, but they did traverse the treacherous river barely but safely despite having to walk around patches of open water and later suffering a mother's disciplinary wrath.
At 7 years of age in 1942 the family moved back to the Grave's original stomping grounds of Spencer, Wisconsin. They bought the old house built in 1920 built by the Tack family on the corner of Elm and Douglas Street. Her dad had taken a job as a manager at the Dairy Belt (Cheese Factory) in Spencer. From then on, she attended the Spencer Public Schools until graduation. She had always had her eye from elementary years on a boy named Jim Sautner. Sue's family had always been Methodist, and mom often would walk by herself at an early age to attend at the Methodist Church in Spencer. Later in high school her mother Bernice began to attend Christ the King Catholic Church in Spencer to play the church organ, so Sue began to attend Christ the King also where low and behold that same boy Jim Sautner and his family happened to be members. Soon her Aunt LuCille (Graves) Tack also converted to Christ the King.
Shortly after graduating Spencer Highschool Suzanne enrolled at the St Joseph School of Nursing in Marshfield, WI completing the 2-year course. After that she went on a few dates but always came back to her childhood sweetheart Jim Sautner. Jim was drafted into the army in 1957, so they planned to marry right after basic training. Jim received orders to Ft. Sam Houston Army Base in San Antonio TX to work as a surgical assistant where they lived for two years. Sue gave birth to her first child at Brooks Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX on St. Patrick's Day delivered by an Irish Doctor. Mom would always recount that she asked the Irish Doctor "Well Casey, did you lower the boom?" And the Doctor laughed aloud saying "Yes, I did. I lowered the boom." You must be of that era to understand the humor of that joke.
In 1959, the two-year enlistment in the Army was finished honorably discharged and they moved back up north. Jim had obtained a job at Abbott Laboratories thanks to a referral by an old high school classmate Mel Karau who also worked at Abbott Labs in North Chicago. They lived in North Chicago for about 4 years, during which, in 1959 Sue had a second child, a girl named Stephanie Ann. In 1962 they moved to a house in Waukegan Illinois where in 1963 Sue had her third child James Sautner. In 1964 Sue and Jim moved to a house a few miles north of Waukegan to Zion, Illinois about 20 miles south of Racine, Wisconsin where her brother-in-law Chuck Sautner and family resided. She went on to have 3 more children David (Jean)Sautner, Stephen Sautner, and Tim (Jessica/Jaime) Sautner to be followed by grandchildren Blake (Larinn); Brandon (Taryn) Benjamin (Katherine) and Beau (Solandra) Hilgemann; Grace (Noah) Cote; Claire, Joey Sautner; Tori (Sautner) Lawson, Madeline Sautner, James Prescott Sautner; Peyton, Johnny and Tyylar Sautner; step grandchildren Melissa (Augustine) Steele, Jenessa (Augustine) Rotering; great grandchildren Haley Hilgemann, Ashlyn and Jaxon Hilgemann; Micha Lawson and (Grace Sautner having one grand baby on the way); ten step great grandchildren Melika, Isaiah, Xander, Lexi, Lori and Declan Steele; Jayden, Adriana, Ayden and Adeline Rotering.
Sue and Jim lived there in Illinois 11 years until, while on their annual pilgrimage vacation to Spencer Wisconsin to visit most of their relatives, there happened to be a job opening for a biology/chemistry teacher at the Spencer high school which aptly fit with Jim's recently acquired B.S. degree in Biology with a Chemistry minor. So, he took the job, Sue, and family who had just been blessed with their sixth and last child Timothy Sautner in 1970 were off to a new adventure in Spencer. Ironically, they moved into mom's childhood home, the big Yellow House in Spencer on the corner of Elm and Douglas Street, her parents giving it up to them in a land contract sale. It was perfect, as it had 5 bedrooms and two bathrooms and was only a block from the public school, which was grades K-12 in one long building. So began what was to be the Central Hub for the entire cadre of 6 Sautner kids all these years up 'til the present moment at mom's passing on Jan 23, 2025. All total, counting mom's time living in the big Yellow House as a kid from age 7-21 and then again from age 32 to 89, mom lived in this house for about 71 years.
During Sue's years as a full time mom in Spencer she was the ideal mom, full of energy and described by her kids as spirited, cheerful, buoyant, uplifting, encouraging, prayerful, active, busy, a hard worker, faithful, sweet, loving, generous, kind, giving, woman of God, servant of all, compassionate, musically gifted -- in short a great mom and friend to all.
She was involved at Church in the choir and playing piano/organ, she had been a member of the PCCW, local Women's Club, local women's Bible study, the library book club. She often was involved in the local fashion shows sponsored by the Women's Club of which she served as President one year. She assisted with some of the material used for the Spencer Centennial Book. She sat on the Tack Center for the Arts board for some years. She worked for a few years seasonally at Figi's in Marshfield and did some waitressing at the old Moby's Restaurant in Spencer for extra cash to help her kids in their college years.
Sue was also known for contributing hot dishes and desserts to funeral receptions many times. She enjoyed summers and weekends in the Spring and Fall at the family cabin on Soo Lake for many years with family and friends from about 1972 to around about 2008. She attended as many of the Sporting events of all her kids, piano recitals, band, and choral concerts up to the last kid's graduation in 1988. She spent many nights worrying about a couple of sons who found themselves in the military during the Gulf War years of the '90s. And there are countless things she did, like St. Therese of Lisieux said "small deeds with great love" that would take volumes to fill.
Jesus was the center of her heart -- her character that of a grace filled soul loved by all who knew her. And in her last 10 years it became noticeable that her memory was not right, and we began to accept that mom had Dementia or Alzheimer's. It became more evident and pervasive with each passing year, yet she was still the same beautiful person we had grown to love. Her house was hosted to a few family reunions every two years. And between reunions she always hosted Thanksgiving and Christmas for whoever could make it home to see her and many birthdays. And now though it contains many family memories over 71 plus years it is no longer the same without her. Yet we sense her presence with us and believe she watches over us and listens in with her usual great interest in each one of us. We believe she will put a good word in for us all with the Good Lord above and we are awaiting the miracles to come, which most assuredly they will. But most of all we are grateful having known such a beautiful person, mom, sister in Christ, forever friend. Thanks mom, we love you. You are the best mom we could have ever hoped to have.
On her last day at The Waterford in Colby (Assisted Living) she lay asleep in her last hours. We were told she could hear us. A few grandkids were present Grace, Claire and Joey, with Sue's son David and daughter-in-law Jean Sautner. They were all singing hymns over her at her bedside. Mom turned her head in her sleep toward her granddaughter Haley's hand drawn artwork on the wall -- some evergreen trees with a cross next to them and a cross on a distant hill. Sue smiled her last smile amidst the beautiful hymns of her family and drew her last goodbye to join her beloved Jesus and the celestial choir of angels and the gathering of the family of saints to welcome her home. Now she is adorned with the perpetual youth of eternal life, her mind sharp and clear and the beauty of her countenance returned to her where she is awaiting us to join her one day soon. We are relieved that her sufferings are finished and that we no longer must worry about her. We know she is safe now from this world where there is now no suffering, no mourning, no tears but only joy and rejoicing in God her Savior. I believe she would want everyone to be educated about the disease of Alzheimer's or Dementia. A book called "The End of Alzheimer's" by Dr. Bredesen would be a good place to start to assist yourselves and your loved ones to prevent and reverse this terrible disease. Sue's wish would be that in the future no one would have to endure such a tragedy even though she understood that suffering by faith has meaning and value "If we suffer with Christ, we shall also rise with him." I am sure right now she is petitioning heaven for everything and anything that is needed for everybody she ever knew. I am sure Sue would be telling all of you right now -- "Be at Peace, it's absolutely stunning over here, can't wait 'til you all come to visit!!! God Bless and Take Care, All my Love, Suzanne.
Suzanne's arrangements are under the care of Life Tributes Funeral Home-Spencer. Please visit www.lifetributesfuneralhome.com to share memories and offer condolences.