Katherine “Kaye” V. Mayer passed away peacefully on February 28, 2019. Born in Wood River IL, Kaye lived all of her adult life in St. Louis, Missouri. She was 88 years old, enjoyed a long, productive life and was much loved by her family and friends.

Kaye is survived by her daughter, Susan (Mayer) Sauer; her son-in-law Paul “my Paulie” Sauer; her step son Robert Mayer (Sue Goodman); step daughter Shelley Shaw (Roland); her sister Josephine Doll; nieces, nephews, grandchildren and good friends. She is preceded in death by her husband Ludwig Mayer and several siblings.

Kaye attended Washington University, studying Law at a time when women were not encouraged to become attorneys and were actively discouraged in doing so. She graduated from Washington University and then went onto Harris Stowe to earn a Master’s degree in Education.

Kaye, taught for 30+ years as a St. Louis City Public School Teacher. She believed wholly that every child, no matter their situation, was entitled to a good education and that a good education meant opportunity for a child to grow into a self-sustaining adult. Even after retiring, Kaye continued to be involved with St. Louis Public Schools as an active member of the Retired Teachers Association, serving as President and later Chairperson of the Legislative Committee.

Kaye loved jokes. She and her late husband, Ludwig, always shared good humor and passed that love of laughter to their children and shared with their friends and family. In fact, she collected jokes and kept printed copies of hundreds of them. . . just in case.

Kaye loved her family and friends. She took great pride in the relationships and closeness that can only be found in the connections between people with a common story and similar sense of humor and purpose.

Kaye loved learning, teaching and sharing her depth of knowledge in developing good investment and savings practices. “Pay yourself first.” was a familiar mantra.

She freely provided guidance and advice with grace, genuine concern and your best interest at heart.

Kaye was grateful for good things in life and worked hard to achieve success. She grew up without many resources, but she was smart and hard working. She achieved success in everything she did. She recognized the positive and often referenced putting something in her ‘gratitude journal’ and she really had one!

Kaye wanted to help. Her parting comment when talking on the phone or visiting was often ‘is there anything I can do for you?’ Well, Kaye, even though you are not here on earth with us any longer, know that you do something for all of us every day

through the influence you had on our lives. You are loved and missed, but never forgotten.

A Celebration of Life is planned for May 18th from 1pm – 4pm (with a celebration of life service at 2pm) at the Lafayette Park Park House – 2023 Lafayette Ave. St. Louis MO 63104.

Memorial contributions may be made to: Lafayette Park Conservancy – 2023 Lafayette Ave, St. Louis, MO 63104; Springboard to Learning -1310 Papin St. Suite 402, St. Louis, MO 63103 or Missouri Botanical Garden – 4344 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63110