James Edward Sauter

James Edward Sauter

Mount Vernon

Survivor of the infamous bear bite at Lake Vermilion, James Edward “Ed” Sauter died many years later on February 21, 2025, due to complications of prostate cancer. He was surrounded by family and music in the beautiful prairie-style home he designed.

On August 11, 1948, Ed was born on a kitchen table in rural Iowa County with the help of his future father-in-law, a UIowa medical student. He was the second of Jim and RuthAda Sauter’s seven children. Well known for hard work as well as high school antics, he was a left-handed pitcher for English Valleys, served as an altar boy, delivered milk in those old-timey glass bottles, built homes and managed the clubhouse at Knoll Ridge Country Club. To balance this, he was a regular at the after-hours poker games above the North English movie theater and got in some trouble with his dad and the local sheriff over a minor car crash while transporting contraband pyrotechnics across state lines. From these quaint and quintessential origins, Ed went on to design and build a life with Jan and their three daughters.

While getting his Bachelor of Architecture degree, he was a member of the Phi Kappa Phi scholastic honorary, Tau Beta Pi engineering honorary, and the Sigma Tau Delta architecture honorary. After a long summer of hard work surveying structures in the US for fall-out shelters, he learned that he had been awarded the American Institute of Architects Foundation Scholarship. At this point, he may have diverted some of this scholarship money towards his first set of nice golf clubs.

As Iowa State married student housing was quite a bargain at $85/month, Jan and Ed married in 1971. They moved to Mount Vernon in 1975, and this utility also influenced their decision to buy a car that matched the color of the gravel road where they lived. Later, the ever-practical guy poured a concrete parking area as a tribute to their 20th anniversary and their solid relationship so the girls could skate, draw with chalk and ride their bikes.

After finding a beautiful 1854 home to restore, Jan and Ed began their life and work in the Mount Vernon community. Their acreage welcomed friends and neighbors for picnics and parties where many wandering and orphaned animals became pets. It included gardens, play structures and a goat barn as well as many other ongoing projects for restoration. Young, energetic and always curious, the world was their oyster, but they found their pearl in Mount Vernon and never left.

Upon graduating, Ed worked at two firms where his mentoring there contributed to his love of collaboration and many friendships. After passing his boards, he started his first company, Design Collective. He was excited to be involved with the early Kirkwood Community College projects for energy efficient and passive solar residential homes. He also worked with the Farmers Home Administration to bring many affordable senior housing units to the state. Throughout his remaining years, Ed and his business partnerships (who shall remain acronymous) continued to be based in Mount Vernon and provide architectural services across Eastern Iowa.

Ed took his leadership to a new level in the late 1980s when he became involved with a building industry start-up business which he helped move to Ames. It seemed to his daughters that the cramped motel with an outdoor pool and fast-food next door wasn’t such a bad ‘summer home’. Through these connections, Ed began to understand the big world of concrete. And a few years later, when both the Tilt-Up Concrete Association and Concrete Foundations Association were looking for interim managers, Ed was offered what became his dream job. He remains highly regarded throughout the domestic concrete industry as a passionate, trustworthy, and engaging friend to the great many that he was privileged to work alongside.

He was a quiet and patient leader who loved working with others and when home, he turned his attention to Mount Vernon where he worked to highlight the historic and vibrant town that he loved. Many Saturdays were blocked off for Mount Vernon Historic Preservation and he, along with many others at the Community Development Group, helped put Mount Vernon on the map as one of those great small towns in America.

Ed loved that his home was always filled with games, laughter, delicious food and music as his friends and family would gather. He played violin, theremin, and piano serviceably and passed these adequate talents on to his offspring (Rachel may have benefited most from this). He was an avid golfer with at least a single hole-in-one, and he could have, almost definitely, probably been a semi-pro. This interest was not inherited by his children, which was one of his few disappointments in life. The girls made up for it by perfecting some of his favorite foods such as banana cream pie, homemade eggnog, and cinnamon rolls (Claire’s were the best).

In addition to these hobbies, he and his family still found time to travel. While dragging his daughters around the US and Europe, he was able to capture photographs of buildings from cathedrals to tilt-up parking structures as the girls stood beside him, but not in the photos. Ed also believed he spoke German pretty well. He climbed Machu Picchu (but only took Lauren on the that trip for some reason), cruised the Greek Isles with Jan, and took his grandson all over the North American continent. He flew on questionable airlines so that he could enjoy the finest wines; however, none of these were left behind for his family to enjoy.

Dearly loving and loved by his family, he took great pride in his daughters (most of the time) and was thankful he got to meet and enjoy all of his grandchildren. The family is planning a summer celebration.

Ed Sauter was often referred to as influential in the world of concrete (not cement), but we actually believe his life lessons were far more consequential. To honor his life, please be a little kinder of all who are with us in this moment. In remembering Ed, keep a firm grip on the truth, a solid understanding of how your actions affect others, and pour love into the world.

He looks forward to joining the voter rolls in a swing state for the 2026 midterms.

We wish you peace.