Memorial
Ron Gauper, financial planner, golfer and beloved father, died August 18 at home in Cedar Rapids. He was 97.
Ronald Richard Gauper was born Dec. 13, 1916, in Minneapolis, the son of a Red Wing Shoes traveling salesman and a Swedish-born homemaker. He was an enterprising youth and earned money setting trap lines along Minnehaha Creek, selling eggs door to door and caddying for an African-American mortician, who paid him twice the going rate.
He earned the rank of Eagle Scout and attended the University of Minnesota. He took a job at Investors Syndicate, now Ameriprise Financial, and married Gloria Fae Steinmetz on May 3, 1940. Soon, they had two daughters, Nancy and Bonnie.
He was separated from his family by World War II, in which he served as an instructor in the U.S. Army Air Forces, eventually flying every plane in the service because, he noted ruefully, “I kept passing the tests.''
After the war, he worked as a district manager for Gamble stores, moving to Watertown, S.D., and then Iowa City, Iowa. He and Gloria had three more children, Lynn, Rick and Beth.
Ron loved to spend time outdoors, fishing, boating and hunting for deer and pheasant. He loved road trips and converted an old school bus into a camper for family vacations. Because of his energy and ingenuity, his teen-age children dubbed him “Rockin' Ron.”
In 1961, Ron's beloved Gloria died after a long illness, and in 1963, he married Elva Stanley Kundert. In 1968, he moved with Elva and Beth to Cedar Rapids, where he became a financial planner, a job at which he continued to work into his 80s.
He and Elva became members of Lovely Lane United Methodist Church and joined Elmcrest Country Club, where they won many golf tournaments together and as singles. In his later years, Ron gained in precision what he lost in power, amazing younger golfers with his ability to hit the ball straight down the fairway, without fail. He loved golf, and the day he finally stopped playing, at age 93, was
a sad one.
At age 94, he learned to use a computer and called it his “lifeline to the outside world.'' He continued annual fishing trips to his daughter Bonnie's waterfront home in Canada, his favorite place in the world.
Ron was an independent thinker whose clear-eyed view of the world and sly sense of humor delighted those who knew him. He will be sorely missed by his children, on whom he lavished much affection and many hugs.
They are Nancy Freeman of Arvada, Colo.; Bonnie Minnick of Pinawa, Manitoba; Lynn VanHorne of Longwood, Fla.; Rick Gauper of Wheat Ridge, Colo.; and Beth Gauper of Minneapolis.
He is also survived by his wife Elva, of Lakewood, Colo.; his sister, Joyce Findell of Austin, Texas; and 12 grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
In accordance with their father's wishes, his children celebrated his life privately. Condolences are welcomed.