Rosemary Diane (Eklund) Saur

Rosemary Diane Eklund Saur, 80, formerly of Willmar, passed away peacefully after a short illness on Monday, October 5, 2020. Her memorial service will be at 11:00 am, Saturday, July 17th at Bethel Lutheran Church in Willmar. Visitation will be one hour prior to her service. Burial will be in Fairview Cemetery in Willmar. Arrangements are with Harvey Anderson Funeral Home in Willmar. www.hafh.org

Rosemary was born in Willmar, MN where she attended a one room school near Eagle Lake through the 6th grade. She graduated as a valedictorian of Willmar high school class 1958.

She graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN in 1962. After graduation, Rosemary was employed by the Forest Lake high school as the first female science teacher in this school system. On June 15, 1963 she married Warren Saur at Bethel Lutheran Church in Willmar.

Moving to Goleta, CA in 1968 she attended the University of California Santa Barbara, where she received her Masters and PhD in educational psychology. Upon graduation from UCSB in 1979, Rosemary joined the faculty of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY. Becoming fluent in American Sign Language, she achieved the position of NTID Chairman of the support team at the college of Science and Engineering at RIT. Under her leadership as the Primary Investigator, Rosemary's team received the US Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring in 2001. Rosemary was a member of the faculty at NTID for 28 years, retiring in 2007.

Rosemary was an avid reader, passing on her prolific collection of books to family and friends. She also enjoyed needlework and knitting. Many of her creations are considered works of art.

She was recently an active member of All Saints Lutheran Church in Albuquerque, NM. Previously an active member of Christ Lutheran Church, Goleta, CA, she served as organist. Rosemary also served as President of the church council at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Pittsford, NY.

Rosemary was preceded in death by her parents Latimer and Margaret Eklund and brother Peter Eklund. She is survived by her husband Warren Saur, sons Michael (Taixiang) and Daniel (Karen), daughter Maureen (Jeff) Barbour and seven grandchildren, Ariel Lin, Emily Saur, Carl Saur, Grant Saur and Erik Saur, Kayla Barbour and Amanda Barbour and sister Daphne (Morrie) Evenson.

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