116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
John Saeger
JOHN R. SAEGER
Iowa City
John R. Saeger of Grapevine, Texas, died early Christmas morning, Dec. 25, 2015.
Born March 9, 1931, in Kansas City, Mo., the second of five children to V.W. and Clara Graebner Saeger, he was preceded in death by his parents and his youngest brother, Donald.
Baptized in infancy, Jesus Christ remained a vital presence in John's life. Adding much to his life was the graceful and loving presence of his wife of 62 years, Lorraine. They were married while John was completing his studies for the Lutheran ministry at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Mo. Following graduation in 1955, John served as pastor to congregations in Hammond and Ponchatoula, La., Lafayette, La., and Galveston, Texas.
Because of a growing interest in hospital chaplaincy, John chose to enter a program of clinical pastoral education at St. Luke's Episcopal and Texas Children's Hospitals in Houston. Following completion of his clinical studies, plus his internship and residency, he was fully certified as a C.P.E. supervisor by the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education Inc. He joined the staff at Terrell State Hospital. He then accepted a position of C.P.E. supervisor at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa, where he remained for 21 years until his retirement in 1996.
Following retirement, John and Lorraine returned to the Dallas area.
John is survived by his wife, Lorraine, of Grapevine, Texas; daughters, Linda Myers of Euless, Texas, and Jane Saeger of Adelaide, South Australia; son, John N. Saeger of Southlake, Texas; four grandchildren, Morgan Myers, Jonathan Saeger, Abbey Saeger and Mason Blake; brothers, Victor Saeger and wife Florence of Webster Groves, Mo., and Richard Saeger and wife Sandra of Prairie Village, Kan.; sister, Charlotte Klockau and husband Keith of Kansas City, Mo.; numerous nieces and nephews; and by friends, former students and colleagues in the hospitals and parishes he served.
A memorial service will be at Abiding Grace Lutheran Church, 1060 E. Highland St., Southlake, Texas, at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 9.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be sent to Abiding Grace Lutheran Church for the capital fund or to Joseph's House, 1730 Lanier Place NW, Washington, D.C. 20009, one of John's and Lorraine's favorite causes for years.
Daily Newsletters