Isabelle Marie Lingerfelt Sauer died September 17, 2019, at Cumbernald Village, Winfield, at the age of 96.

She was born August 20, 1923, in Rice County, Kansas, the fifth child of Frank and Della (Edgman) Lingerfelt. Isabelle was raised on her family’s farm during the 1920s and 1930s, surviving with them the well-documented difficulties of that era’s drought and depression in “Dust Bowl Kansas.” She graduated from Alden High School in 1942 and moved to Wichita to attend secretarial school. After working briefly as a secretary, she joined the United States Navy WAVES in 1943. Her initial training was an eye-opening stint in New York City, after which she was sent to Stillwater, OK, for yeoman’s training. She served the remainder of World War II at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, TX, rising to the rank of Yeoman First Class. Her service to her country during that time was a source of pride throughout her life.

During her Naval service, Isabelle met Lawn Sauer of Mt. Vernon, WA, who was serving in the Army Air Corps at the Army Air Station in Victoria, TX. They were married on Christmas Eve, 1945, in Corpus Christi. At the end of the war, they moved to Rice County, KS, to farm with Isabelle’s father and begin a family. They had one son, Donald, and three daughters, Lily Ann, Twila, and Wilma.

In 1953, Lawn entered the ministry in the Methodist (later United Methodist) Church, and Isabelle embarked with him on a life of ministry that was, in every way, hers as it was his. Over the course of the next decades, Isabelle and Lawn lived in seven different small communities across central and western Kansas. During that time, they served 18 different congregations, each of which Isabelle loved, and from each of which she carried friends throughout her life. Isabelle was a devoted member of United Methodist Women and its predecessor organizations, and was honored as a “UMW Life Member.” She was active in Amnesty International and Habitat for Humanity, and was one of the founders of Joseph’s Storehouse in Burden, Kansas. She was a faithful member of Tisdale United Methodist Church, Winfield, KS.

Isabelle was an avid and eclectic reader, interested in world affairs, generous in spirit and action, and always ready for a game of Scrabble. She kept both her Bible and her crossword dictionary close at hand. During her lifetime, Isabelle embraced not only her natural family, but also her “African son” Chumwe Kaponda (Marcel) and her many step-descendants. They, in turn, embraced and loved her.

Isabelle was preceded in death by her parents; two brothers, Millard and Harlan; three sisters, Thelma Spencer, Arless Earle, and Virda Mathias; her husband Lawn, her daughter Lily Ann, her grandson Joshua Bailey, and her son-in-law, Thomas Glenn.

She is survived by her brother Lawrence Lingerfelt of Port Angeles, WA; her son Donald of Ft. Atkinson, WI; her daughter Twila Glenn of Des Moines, IA; her daughter Wilma (Richard) Bailey of Victoria, TX; 14 grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews; and countless friends.

As did Lawn, Isabelle bequeathed her body to the University of Kansas School of Medicine to be used for medical research and education.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, October 20, 2019, at Tisdale United Methodist Church, Winfield, KS. Miles Funeral Service is in charge of arrangements. A notice of time and other details will be published closer to that date.

Isabelle’s family would like to thank the staff of Cumbernald Village and Harry Hines Hospice for the extraordinary care she received during her final illness.

Toward the end of her life, Isabelle established the Lawn and Isabelle Sauer Family Scholarship for international students at Southwestern College in Winfield, KS, and expressed her hope that any memorials at the time of her death be made to that fund.

Memorials may also be directed to Tisdale United Methodist Church and Harry Hynes Hospice. Contributions may be made through the funeral home.