JACQUELINE LOU “JACQUE” SAUNDERS
March 26, 1939 ~ May 10, 2012

Jacqueline Lou “Jacque” Saunders, age 73, a long time Park Rapids area resident, passed away on Thursday, May 10, 2012 at the St. Joseph’s area hospital in Park Rapids.
Jacque was born on March 26, 1939 in Council Bluffs, Iowa to John and Nellie (Hollinger) Saunders. She made her home in Council Bluffs until the age of 16. In 1955, she moved with her parents to their new lake home on Gilmore Lake, north of Dorset. She attended Park Rapids area high school where she was active in speech and debate, choir and was a member of the tennis team, graduating with the Class of 1957. Jacque then attended secretarial school and worked as a secretary in the Twin Cities. Some years later she returned to the Park Rapids area where she devoted herself to her real estate career and her daughter, Melissa. Jacque was a wonderful cook and baker who will be long remembered for her delicious chocolate cake and homemade breads. She was an accomplished seamstress who made the majority of her own and her young daughters clothes. She also spent many hours knitting sweaters as gifts for others. Jacque loved the out of doors and especially spending time on the lake fishing and swimming. She was an avid gardener who loved to raise beautiful flowers and her own vegetables which she would can. Jacque devoted her life to her daughter, Melissa and grandson, John Patrick. From 2007 to 2010, Jacque worked part-time as a greeter for Wal-Mart in Park Rapids, a job that she really loved because she was able to visit with so many of her friends and also make new friends. She was past president of the Otto Hendrickson American Legion Post Auxiliary and was a long time member of the Mantrap Valley Conservation Club, Riverside United Methodist Church and the Eastern Star.
Jacque will be lovingly remembered by her daughter, Melissa Diane Saunders of Park Rapids; her grandson, John who she was so proud of; a host of cousins and other relatives.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother who died in infancy.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Riverside United Methodist Church in Park Rapids with Reverend Lee Kantonen officiating. Casketbearers will be: Don Holmen, Kris Holmen, Tom Burkle, Greg Junker, Patrick Harding and Charlie Kellner. Honorary casketbearers will be: Helen Billing, Mickey Miller and the American Legion Auxiliary Members. Visitation will be held for one hour prior to the service at the church on Tuesday. Interment will be held in the Lake Emma Cemetery near Park Rapids.