Velma Ruby Sauer

Velma R. Sauer, age 106, of Grants Pass, died Thursday, March 27, 2008 at Royale Gardens Health & Rehabilitation Center.

A visitation will be from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 2, 2008 at Hull & Hull Funeral Directors.

A funeral service will be at 2:00 p.m., Thursday, April 3, 2008 at Hull & Hull Chapel with Pastor Dennis Webber officiating. Private interment will be at Hillcrest Memorial Park.

Remembrances may be made to Wildlife Images, PO Box 36, Merlin, Oregon 97532.

She was born Velma Ruby Hull March 11, 1902 in Oskaloosa, Iowa to William & Martha (Lyons) Hull. At the age of eight, she moved with her family by train to Medford. After business college, she worked as bookkeeper at Woods Grocery Store in Grants Pass. In 1923 in Grants Pass she married Leo Sauer. She managed Adrienne’s Ready-to-Wear dress shop in Grants Pass before her family moved to Klamath Falls where she opened Velma’s Studio of Beauty. After returning to Grants Pass to the family ranch on Lower River Road, she owned and operated Peter Pan Beauty Salon. In 1961, after taking her broker’s examination she started Sauer’s Realty, which she owned and operated until her retirement in 1985.

Velma organized the first Toast Mistress Club in Grants Pass. She was appointed by Oregon Governor Earl Snell as president of the State Board of Cosmetic Therapy Examiners and later appointed as vice president to the National Association of Beauticians. She also held many offices on the local Realtor board.

As a young girl she enjoyed horseback riding. Her hobbies included oil painting, gardening, and traveling. Throughout her life she enjoyed her pets and various wildlife.

Survivors include a granddaughter and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

She was preceded in death by her husband Leo Sauer in 1975 and her son Don Sauer in 1984.