Karl Heinz Sauter

Karl Sauter died in April 2026 surrounded by the love of his family at the age of 87. He was preceded in death, 5 years prior, by his beloved wife of 55 years, Margaret of Jesup, Iowa. He is survived by his five children and their spouses: Kurt and Jackie Sauter, Monica and Jack Kiernan, Christine Sauter, Mark and Julie Sauter, Paul and Maureen Sauter, and nine grandchildren: Megan, Jessica, Audrey and Abigail, Jackson and Kelsea, Claire and Sophia, and Luke.

Karl was born in Ravensburg, Germany in 1938. He lost his younger half-brother, Günther, to illness during the war. Karl immigrated by ship to America at the age of 13 to join his mother Theresia, who had immigrated the year prior to Newark, NJ. In New Jersey he completed grade school, high school, and began studies at Rutgers University until joining the US Air Force in 1957 and becoming a US citizen at the age of 19. In the Air Force he serviced RADAR equipment while being stationed at Thule Air Base, Greenland, 700 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

Upon completing his service, he briefly entered Jesuit novitiate training at Sacred Heart Seminary in Los Gatos, CA until moving to the San Fernando Valley in 1961. He attended college while also working as an electronics technician at several companies, including TRW’s Microwave Division in Canoga Park, until graduating from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts degree in German in 1964. He met a neighbor at his apartment building who would be the love of his life, Margaret. Karl and Margaret were married at St. Elizabeth Church in Van Nuys in 1965.

Karl and Margaret were soon blessed with a growing family (Kurt, Monica, Christine) while Karl began his teaching career. He completed his master’s degree in German at UCLA in 1970, welcomed two more newborns, Mark and Paul, and completed his PhD in German Language and Literature at USC in 1977. Karl’s 30-year teaching career centered on language and math. He taught at several high schools in the San Fernando Valley, at Drake University in Iowa, and briefly served as a German language instructor at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. He was especially fond of his years at St Francis High School in La Cañada in the 1980s, teaching German and math, advising the student German Club, and being known affectionately as ‘Doc Sauter’.

Karl remained steadfast in his faith and his love for his wife, children, grandchildren and mother. He loved a good cup of coffee, a well-played hand of bridge, John Wayne and western movies, Tolkien, classical music, a washed and shined VW bug, Bob Hope, Laurel and Hardy, a neatly mowed lawn, road trips, chess, sci-fi, Disneyland, freshly baked pie, dampfnudeln, his mother’s spätzle, good bread, Pavarotti, a flexible return policy, socks with leather sandals, slot machines, a comfortable chair in a quiet backyard, friendly dogs, cats and animals of every kind, the serenity of the high desert, and afternoon drives with his beloved Margaret.

Memorial Mass: Saturday May 16th, 10:00 am, Saint Paschal Baylon Catholic Church, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Final Interment: Saint Mary's Cemetery, Gilbertville, IA.

In lieu of flowers, donations kindly requested to: Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers

maryknollsociety.org