Frieda (Lehr) Sauter

Frieda Sauter was born January 14, 1932 in Medicine Hat, Alberta and passed away on July 20, 2022 in Ponoka, Alberta. She was the oldest daughter of Henry and Hilda Lehr. Frieda has two sisters, Phyllis and Ruth.

Frieda was raised on a farm south of Irvine, east of Medicine Hat.

It was at the Berry Center School where she first met Wallace Sauter and years later, on December 11, 1948 they were married. They also farmed south of Irvine for thirty-one years on Wallace's family farm. She was a very capable farm wife able to help with farm work, baling, hauling grain, milking cows, raising chickens, gardening and doing up lots of preserves for the winter. The pride and joy of their life was their two daughters, Gloria and Gale. Frieda enjoyed sewing during the winter making many clothes for her girls. In their later years on the farm Freida and Wallace also enjoyed curling in the winter, as well as some camping in their trailer in the summer whenever there there was a break in the farm work. After both girls were married, Gloria to Al Billey  and Gail to Bob Boschee, Freida and Wallace were thrilled to welcome the five grandchildren into the family. The older grandchildren have fond memories of Gramma and Grandpa's farm and enjoyed being introduced the farm life with Grandpa's horse, the cows and especially the litters of kittens. Gramma and Grandpa also made sure they had the right attire for the rodeos, with cowboy/cowgirl clothes and hats and enjoyed attending parades and stampedes together. It was always a great time together with their cousins and second cousins.

In 1980, Frieda and Wallace retired into Medicine Hat where they became members of Victory Lutheran Church. Frieda loved teaching Sunday School and joined the choir there. It was during this time they had more time to pursue their passion for travel. They were adventurous which was evident in the many trips that they took. Bus trips and guided tours were their favorite. They loved to learn about the culture of different people. Some of their journeys included trips to Australia, New Zealand, Asia, many countries in Europe, and many places  in the Unites States and across Canada to the Maritimes. 

In 1977 they decided to move to Ponoka to be closer to their girls and their families. They became members of the Trinity Lutheran Church where she also enjoyed singing in the choir, helping with Kids Club, and being a member of the Lutheran Ladies Aide. They continued to enjoy summertime trailering.

Frieda was predeceased by her husband Wallace on August 25, 2012. She remained in her home for as few more years, continuing to keep busy with her family, friends, playing cards at the Drop-In Center and a bit more camping in her camperized van. In 2016 she moved into Legacy Place and enjoyed her time with the residents there.

Freida had a very sweet disposition. She had the ability to always see the very best in people, no matter what! She just had this unconditional love for others and was not judgmental. She always knew that God loved everyone else just as much as He loved her. She cared deeply for her family, extended family and people in general. She enjoyed watching a lot of news on T.V., local and international, and in response to the negative she would often say, "We have to pray for them." She was a prayer warrior and we always knew that if anything was not going well in our families, she would be praying for us.

Frieda had a yearning to learn and was not afraid to try new things. She taught herself to read notes and play the piano, took swimming lessons, a Red Cross safety course, learned how to type, and these past years even became fairly adept at using her Ipad.

She was very creative and liked to sketch, paint and take photos. She loved taking photos of antique buildings, flowers and scenery, and made beautiful greeting cards which she was able to sell in various shops around central Alberta. Her creativity was also evident in her excellent needlework and sewing skills. She not only sewed clothes for herself and her daughters but later sewed beautiful dresses for her granddaughters too. Then as the ten great-grandchildren came along, she embroidered squares to make each of them a baby quilt. She was also willing to be out "go-to" whenever some of us needed sewing or mending done.

Even at 90 years of age, Frieda continued to be an immaculate housekeeper. She was also an excellent cook right up until her recent hospitalization. She still loved to drive, shop, plan her meals, and cook them. She was happy to be able to teach her grandkids how to make a few of the German favorite foods, including "strudels", teaching them how to stretch that dough paper thin. Another favorite was her "kuuhin" or "kuuha" as we called it. Some of her grandchildren spent time learning to make it, and also finding out how much work they are to make.

The main thing in Frieda's life was her faith and serving the Lords was such a huge part of her life. In fact, it became a constant in her life! She brought her children up in the church and she often mentioned that her greatest joy was that her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren all believed in the Lord.

So now we say to you, Frieda, as in Matthew 25:23

"Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things.

I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord."        

Frieda was predeceased by her husband Wallace in 2012 and her son-in-law Albert Billey in 2006. She leaves to mourn her daughters Gloria Billey (Don Wacowich) of Ponoka and Gail (Bob) Boschee of Calgary; five grandchildren: Quinton Billey, Quadelle (Glen) Rose, Jolene (Kelly) Wiens, Kevin (Nicole) Boschee, and Michelle (Curt) Janzen; plus ten great-grandchildren: Joshua Rose, Emerson Rose, Zachary Rose, Hananiah Wiens, Emmanuel Wiens, Yeshua Wiens, Sepiday Wiens, Lincon Janzen, Delaney Janzen, and Easton Janzen; and her two sisters Phyllis (Norman) Schneider of Medicine Hat and Ruth (Marvin) Rath of Medicine Hat. Frieda will also be lovingly remembered by numerous nieces, nephews as well as other family and friends.

A Funeral Service will be held at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ponoka on Tuesday, July 26 at 1:00 p.m.. The Funeral Service will be livestream broadcast at service time. The video link is located below. The Interment Service will follow at the Forest Home Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to World Vision. 

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