John "Jack" Sander

John Carl Sander died August 4, 2016, after a brief illness. A visitation will be held from 3-5 p.m. and again from 7-9 p.m. with a prayer service beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 12, 2016, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Isle. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 13, 2016, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Isle with visitation 1 hour prior to service. Interment will be at 2 p.m. on Monday, August 15, 2016, in West Akers Lutheran Cemetery in Prairie Farm, WI. John Carl “Jack” Sander was born on October 10, 1931, in Hillsdale, Wisconsin, to John Robert Sander and Ruth Adeline née Jacobs. He was baptized on December 31, 1931. He spent his childhood years on the farm while attending the Parkman country one-room school in Prairie Farm, Wisconsin. He was confirmed on July 15, 1945, at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church in Prairie Farm. After graduating from Prairie Farm High School in 1949, Jack served in the U.S. Army for two years as a heavy artillery mechanic in Fort Lewis, Washington. He married Betty Mae Wallen on June 19, 1954. He and Betty raised their family of Mike, Laurie, and Doug in Mendota Heights. Jack retired after working for Armour & Co. for 32 years. (A highlight that year was shooting a moose on his 50th birthday.) Jack married Carol Ann Kerner on May 18, 1991, and together they moved to a home on Mille Lacs Lake in Isle, Minnesota. A depression-era upbringing instilled in Jack the values of thrift and hard work that he carried with him his entire life. He never threw anything away. He heated his home on the lake primarily with wood he cut, split, and hauled himself. He took great pride in having next winter’s supply of wood on hand by the end of each summer. He was an outdoorsman; he loved being in the woods and on the water, especially when frozen. He looked forward to his annual fishing trips with his Prairie Farm friends to Jack Pine Joe Lodge in Canada. His first trip was in 1958, and over the next 57 years, he missed only once. Over the years, the fishing group evolved to include his son, Doug and good friend, Don Sundheim. Jack was a gentleman. He was helpful, likable, and easy-going. The friendships he formed were life-long: good people from his hometown, work, church, and neighborhood. He maintained a positive outlook throughout his life and remained optimistic through his health difficulties and other challenges. His response to most any dilemma or difficulty was, “It’ll all work out.” Jack was preceded in death by his wife, Betty; grandson, David Michael Miller; brothers, Kenneth (Marian) and Robert, sister-in-law Mildred; nephews Bruce and Tom; and his parents and parents-in-law, Ralph and Helen Wallen. Left to remember him and cherish his memory are his wife, Carol Ann; children, Michael, Laurie (Jim) Miller, Douglas; grandsons, Joseph Sander Martinez and Carl Miller; brother, Harold; sister-in-law Ruth; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, friends, and neighbors. Tax-deductible memorial suggestions: Trinity Lutheran Church, 880 Island Avenue, P.O. Box 51, Isle, MN 56342 David Michael Miller Memorial Scholarship Fund: Dollars for Scholars/David M. Miller Memorial Fund, PO Box 233, St. Peter, MN 56082 To give online, go to stpeter-kasota.dollarsforscholars.org, and specify the David Miller Scholarship Fund in John Sander’s memory.

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John "Jack" Sander

October 10, 1931 - August 4, 2016