SAUTER, John

August 29, 1941 – July 23, 2025

On July 23, Hans-Jürgen Peter (John) Sauter passed away peacefully at home in Hudson in a sun-filled room facing the water and surrounded by his loving and heart-broken family.  Left to mourn his passing are his beloved wife Anna, daughter Julie-Anne (Jamie), son James (Kristina), Anna’s daughter Liana (Simon), sister Jeanette and six cherished grandchildren.  He was 83.

John could be described in so many ways, as his was a well-lived life full of curiosity, creativity and enthusiasm: Immigrant, marketer, entrepreneur, marathoner, cyclist, sailor, pilot, mountain climber, fundraiser, volunteer, mentor and Catholic.  He was infuriatingly good at everything – even pétanque.  But he was at his happiest and most proud in his roles of husband, father, Opa and friend.

In June of 2003 John married Anna.  Together they retired in Hudson making a beautiful and welcoming home by the water and with the hopes of future grandchildren gathering for treehouse building, tug-o-wars, campfires and togetherness.  John and Anna set out on an extraordinary series of explorations of every continent of the world while making new friends, visiting old ones and embracing new cultures – especially the food! Mixed in was a constant presence with far flung family in Toronto and Winnipeg to be a part of first communions, swim meets, hockey and soccer games, horseback riding and everything in between.  John’s love and admiration for Anna was so deep and apparent to all with the good fortune to witness it in countless small and large acts of affection all cleverly delivered with his mischievous smile.  Theirs is an eternal love affair.

The joy that John’s two children, Julie-Anne and James, brought to his life was immeasurable.  Love and pride were to be unabashedly shown and shared with anyone who would listen.  Pity his seat mate on long flights.  John wrote long letters and touching cards and whenever he would visit hid notes to be found in the days that followed.  Wherever they caught up with him to chat, John made it feel like nothing could matter more.  Through all of this, usually subtly but also at times with Germanic bluntness, came his sage advice and full-throated encouragement.  James and Julie-Anne absorbed his strong convictions about education, hard work, discipline and, above all, maintaining a clean car.  They were taught to make a friend out of fear – as he exemplified especially in his last years – and always had the perfect quote to turn uncertainty into confidence.  Julie-Anne and James feel so very fortunate to have been able to build lives, careers, marriages and families of their own on the foundation of optimism, resilience, loyalty, curiosity, self-assurance and independence he instilled so deeply in both of them.

John was always grateful to Canada for providing him a new home from which to build a remarkable life.  Rarely was an opportunity missed to explore the awesome beauty of its mountains and lakes which he was forever in awe of.  Still, John’s heritage remained a part of his identity and he took great care to stay connected to extended family in Germany and was utterly ruthless in stealthily ensuring every child and grandchild woke up on St. Nicholas Day with chocolates in their shoes.

John had wonderful life-long friends.  These friendships were built in shared experiences: immigrating to a new country without the languages, building a large and successful marketing agency, clinging to mountainsides, racing sailboats, endless miles on the bike in rural Quebec and Europe and spirited dinner table conversation.  The family is so appreciative of your support and storytelling particularly in these difficult final weeks.

It is possible from time to time we groaned and rolled our eyes as John insisted photos be taken or impromptu speeches be made to mark occasions and signify new memories.  Few ever saved more money from the transition to digital photography.  Through our grief, we can see the rich tapestry of echoed joy he was relentlessly building for us. This deep well of recalled adventure, laughter, love, friendship and family will sustain us.  John took care of people and even in death that carries on.  Incidentally, this was also a man who knew how to open a bottle of champagne and when to wear a bow tie.

We are forever grateful for the wisdom, dedication and compassion of John’s medical team from his first diagnosis of esophageal cancer in 2017.  The care of Drs. Ferri and Chaudhury coupled with John’s unflagging optimism and determination to rage against that dying light gave us more and better last years than we could ever have hoped.  Predictably John used this time for new travel adventures with Anna, family gatherings and deep conversation.  John could talk.  He even set about writing a memoir of his difficult early life in post-war Germany: years of loss, separation, loneliness and struggle but joy too and that were powerfully formative in the person John became.  Just weeks before he passed, the entire family gathered for the official book launch of “The Berlin Boy”.  While John in typical modesty shrugged his shoulders at our amazement (“it is just what we did”) we saw again his lessons of resilience, appreciation, generosity, love and above all and always – family.

The biggest gift of these last years was John watching his grandchildren grow into young adults.  John’s innate genius was to meet each child where they were: nurturing the individual personality and forging a unique, special and even sometimes conspiratorial bond.  Their passions became his.  No achievement was too small to be celebrated emphatically. In turn, his grandchildren knew him, learned from him and loved him.  Sebastien, Claire, Sacha, Matthew, Charlotte and Noah  will desperately miss their Opa but he will walk with them always, whispering encouragement to be bold and courageous and to always paddle your own canoe.

We would like to thank John’s palliative care team: Dr. Annick Terret-Hans and the nurses from NOVA Hudson and CLSC Vaudreuil-Soulanges. They became part of our family and made this difficult time so much easier by ensuring John was always comfortable.

John, Dad, Opa – what we would do for one more of your smiles.  We will miss you and love you forever.

The funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 413 Main St., Hudson, Qc J0P 1H0, on Thursday, July 31, 2025 at 11 a.m. Condolences at the church from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. The reception and celebration of life will take at the Hudson Creative Hub, 273 Main St. Hudson from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Livestreaming of the Mass.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Thoracic Patient Care and Research Fund # 984 at the Montreal General Hospital Foundation. Donations can be made online at https://mghfoundation.com/JohnSauter, by telephone at  (514) 934-8230 or by mail to the Montreal General Hospital Foundation, 1650 Cedar Ave, E6-129, Montreal, H3G 1A4.  Alternatively, please consider supporting NOVA Hudson through their website (https://www.novahudson.com/donations.htm)