Louis Wesley Sander 1918-2003

SANDER, MESENBRINK, MCCLEEREY

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 10/5/2008 at 00:51:09

Sioux City Journal
Wednesday, January 15, 2003

UTE, Iowa -- Louis Sander, 84, of Ute died Monday, Jan. 13, 2003, at Burgess Health Center in Onawa, Iowa.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Ute, with the Rev. Ed Brandt officiating. Burial will be in St. Clair Cemetery, with military rites conducted by American Legion Aaby Post 442 and Veterans of Foreign Wars post 5605, both of Ute. Visitation will be after 2 p.m. today, with a prayer service at 7:30 p.m., at Armstrong Funeral Home in Ute.

Louis Wesley Sander was born Aug. 8, 1918, in Charter Oak, Iowa, the son of Grover and Rose (Mesenbrink) Sander. The family moved to Ute when he was 2 years old. He attended Ute schools and graduated in 1936. He was drafted into the U.S. Army. He served time in the Philippines during World War II.
He worked in Miller's General Store, had a milk route and worked with his dad in plumbing and heating. He operated the Skelly Service Station, later the Skelly tank wagon and gave candy to the children when delivering. He also drove a school bus for 30 years, retiring in 1986.

On Oct. 22, 1939, he married Madeleine McCleerey in Ute. They lived in Ute all their lives and were blessed with four children. Madeleine died Dec. 20, 1986. He married Erma Eggen in 1988.

He was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Ute, having been quite active serving as an usher and was on the dart ball team. He was a communicator for Lutheran Brotherhood. He was a member of American Legion Aaby Post 442, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5605 and the Ute Fire Department for more than 50 years. He served as a councilman on the Ute City Council and was a member of Ute Commercial Club, active in the building of the Ute Town and Country. He enjoyed fishing and gardening.

He is survived by his wife, Erma of Ute; two daughters and their husbands, Lynne and Gary Myers of Longmont, Colo., and Loretta and Lloyd Hinrichsen of Ute; two sons and their wives, Paul and Susan Sander of Anchorage, Alaska, and Jeff and Dawn Sander of Onawa, Iowa; 13 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; two stepchildren, Jolene Douglas of Fort Dodge, Iowa, and Norman Eggen of Lafeyette, Calif.; and a stepgrandson.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Robert; two sisters, Mary and Ruby; and two grandchildren, Lori Maack and John Paul Aaby.