Marilyn Sauer

MARILYN Louise Kerr "Mac" Sauer passed away peacefully on July 16, 2025. She was 94 years old. Marilyn was born in Cleveland, Ohio on March 6, 1931 to Cora Baker Kizer Kerr and Charles Lawson Kerr. She attended the Cleveland Heights-University Heights school system from kindergarten through 12th grade. and she graduated from Cleveland Heights High School in 1949. She attended Bowling Green University for one year, but after deciding college wasn't for her, she came back and went to work.

Marilyn worked as a textbook repairer for the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education during the summers of 1947-1949. In 1950, she was hired as a dental assistant for Dr. Joseph D. Gage, DDS, and also as a mail girl/media clerk at Fuller & Smith & Ross, Inc. Marilyn was introduced to her future husband by her best friend. When the tall, handsome young man was told her name, he took one look at her, gave her a big, toothy grin, and said, “Hiya, Mac!” And with that, Marilyn was called Mac for the rest of her life.  Mac married Bentley Fred ‘Ben’ Sauer, Jr. (deceased) in June of 1951, and together they had four daughters: Kim Hartman (Jim), Polly Tomlinson (Ken), Lauri Bucci (Fred), and Lynn Blood (deceased) (Ken).

After their marriage, Mac continued working while Ben served overseas in Korea with the United States Air Force. Upon his return from active duty, Ben was stationed at an Air Force base near Wilmington, Delaware. Mac found a job as a receptionist/typist at John Gilbert Craig Advertising, Inc., in Wilmington, and she worked there until the birth of her first daughter.  As a stay-at-home mom, Mac became a ‘professional volunteer’. She was a proud member of the Hillcrest Jayceettes, and served one year as President. She also served as President of the Cleveland Metropolitan Council of Jaycee Wives. Mac served on the Mayfield Road School P.T.G. Board and the Mayfield United Methodist Church Board as well, and she served on several local Republican political campaigns.

In 1961, Mac became a volunteer with the Girl Scouts of Lake Erie Council, working with both girls and adults. She was a troop leader, day camp unit leader, day camp assistant director, adult trainer, head outdoor trainer, chair of numerous task groups, chair of several geographic organizational areas, chair of several Council-wide events, Council delegate, national delegate, Council nominating committee member, and a member of the Board of Trustees. She also served as Vice Chair of the editing team that wrote A Promise Kept, a book on the history of Girl Scouting in the Cleveland area. Through Girl Scouting, Mac later organized and chaired a Council-wide collection project to benefit four area domestic violence shelters. She later became an active volunteer with WomenSafe, Inc., where she handled crisis calls, visited residents, and assisted with mailings and fundraising efforts. She served two terms as Secretary on the WomenSafe Board of Trustees. Although she officially retired in 2002, Mac remained involved and avidly interested in Girl Scouts to the very end.

In 1975, Mac joined the East Cuyahoga County Genealogical Society and served on the Board of Trustees as Corresponding Secretary, 2nd Vice President/Membership Chairman, and Parliamentarian. Through decades of diligent research and numerous gravestone rubbings, Mac traced the ancestry of both Ben’s family and her own for numerous generations, as well as helping other family members and friends research their own family trees.

Mac dearly loved music – hymns, choral, orchestral, musicals, jazz, folk, pop – she hummed, tapped her foot, and always sang along. She also learned to play the baritone ukulele and taught many others to play. She was a voracious reader, passing on her passion for reading to all four of her daughters. She enjoyed knitting, creating beautiful afghans for family and friends, and making baby afghans for each grandchild and great-grandchild. She also knitted beautiful, personalized Christmas stockings for almost every family member, which are and will always be treasured as precious family heirlooms. Mac was a wonderful cook, a generous hostess, an accomplished camper, an excellent storyteller, and a faithful friend.

Mac was the last of her generation. She was predeceased by her parents, Charles and Cora Kerr, her husband Ben Sauer, her sister Marge Lease, her brother Dick Kerr, her grandson Dan Bucci, her grandson Benjamin Tomlinson, and her daughter Lynn Blood. Mac is survived by three daughters, eleven grandchildren, twenty-four great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. The world will never be quite the same without Mac in it. She will be sorely missed by all.

Celebration of Life Service Tuesday, July 22, 2025 at 11:00 AM at Cornerstone Community Church, 1400 Lander Road, Mayfield Heights 44124. Internment following at Knollwood Cemetery at 12:30 PM. Family will receive friends to pay tribute to and celebrate the life of Mac at THE DeJOHN FUNERAL HOME & CELEBRATIONS CENTER OF CHESTERLAND 12811 CHILLICOTHE ROAD (Rt. 306, just south of Mayfield Rd.) on MONDAY July 21, 2025 from 5-8 PM. Memorial donations may be made in Mac's name to the Sarcoma Foundation of America, 9899 Main St., Suite 204, Damascus, MD 20872 / www.curesarcoma.org, or to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105 / www.stjude.org.