Milton Leonard Gauger, 13 Aug 1934 – 20 Nov 2012

GAUGER, HENRY, RATHJEN, VERNON, PRINGLE, VELKY

Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 11/29/2012 at 14:44:34

Milton Gauger, 78

Funeral service for Milton L. Gauger, 78, Marengo, was held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 24, at First United Methodist Church. He died peacefully Tuesday evening, Nov. 20, 2012, at Rose Haven Nursing Home, Marengo, under the care of Essence of Life Hospice.

The Rev. James Bringman and the Rev. Grant Speece officiated at the service.

Burial was in the Marengo Cemetery.

A memorial fund has been established.

Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo, was in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be left at www.klosterfuneralhome.com.

Milton Leonard Gauger was born Aug. 13, 1934, in Charles City, the son of Leonard and Edith Henry Gauger. He attended Rockford, Elkader and Cedar Rapids schools, graduating from Franklin High School, Cedar Rapids, in 1952. He served in the U.S. Army and later with the Army Reserves.

He was employed at Amana Refrigeration for several years in quality control. He worked for Upmeier Stables, Sugar Bottom Stables and later leased and trained horses at Indian Creek Stables, Hilltop Stables and Rockwood Farms in Cedar Rapids. In 1979, he purchased Iowa Valley Stables at Marengo from Dr. C.F. Watts, where he raised and trained horses for over 30 years.

He married Judith Rathjen July 1, 1984, at Trinity United Church of Christ, rural Marengo.

He was a member of the Iowa Horse Show Association, the Iowa American Saddlebred Association, the American Saddlebred Horse Association and the United Professional Horsemen’s Association.

In 1994, he was inducted into the Iowa Horsemen’s Hall of Fame.

Gauger is survived by his wife, Judith; one son, Jeffrey and Susan, Montrose, Mich.; one daughter, Vicki Gauger and Tony Vernon, Bellevue, Neb.; three grandchildren, Steven and Lindsday Gauger, Scott Gauger and Kelsey Gauger; one great-grandson, Gavin Milton Gauger, and one sister, Ruth Pringle, Allen, Texas.

He was preceded in death by his parents and one sister, Norma Velky.

The Williamsburg Journal Tribune, Iowa County Obituaries, 29 Nov 2012, pg 11
Published Nov. 23, 2012 in The Gazette