ROSEVILLE -- A private family graveside service was conducted in July for longtime Placer County resident and Korean War veteran Gerald “Gerry” Saville, who quietly passed away at the age of 95 at his home in Roseville.
Mr. Saville was born Sept. 1, 1928, in Wilkes-Barre, PA to Elizabeth and Harry Huether. He was the second youngest of seven children. He graduated from Cass Technical High School in Detroit, MI, and the University of Detroit. He proudly served his country as a U.S. Army Staff Sgt. He was a Tank Instructor with the 2nd Armored Division (“Hell on Wheels”) stationed in Germany during the Korean War.
Mr. Saville relocated to Indiana and later Michigan and married as a young man before moving to South Sacramento, California in the early 1960s and taking a job as a defense/aerospace engineer at Aerojet General Corp. in Rancho Cordova. Soon after the small family moved to a ranch in Newcastle raising sheep, goats, and chickens, and later to nearby Lincoln. He spent his later years in Roseville.
For much of his longstanding career at Aerojet, Mr. Saville supervised a staff of tool design engineers on a variety of U.S. Department of Defense and NASA contracts, most notably the Polaris, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle missions. There he met test pilots and astronauts. He retired in his late 50s, but after a brief hiatus, he returned to Aerojet as a retired annuitant and worked part-time into his late 70s.
In addition to being an Army veteran and aerospace engineer, Mr. Saville was also a husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, friend, practical joker, cribbage player, bowler, rancher, farmer, pinochle player, Lincoln Little League Coach (also coached the Lincoln Little League All-Stars), and a was big sports fan, especially for the Lincoln High School Fighting Zebras, University of Michigan, Detroit Lions, Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings, San Francisco 49ers and San Francisco Giants. He also enjoyed collecting sports memorabilia.
Mr. Saville quit smoking in his 40s and thrived following two heart bypass surgeries in his 50s and 60s. Doctors declared him a winner earlier this year in his fight against mouth cancer.
Mr. Saville is survived by his four sons, Steve Saville and his wife Kris Buenger, his caregiver Robin Saville, Tim Saville and his wife Tracy and grandson Michael Wilson, and Chris Saville, granddaughter Chelsea Fairchild and her husband Thomas and great-granddaughter Sienna, and many beloved nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his former wife, Dorothy Saville, as well as his six siblings, sisters Joan Mayer, Marietta Moffitt and Betty Pillar, and brothers Bud Huether, Clyde Huether and Robert Huether.
It was Mr. Saville’s wish that in lieu of flowers, contributions be directed to a GoFundMe Page to help his son and caregiver, Robin Saville, re-establish his own independent life and resume a career. Contributions may be made at https://gofund.me/46fc71ba .
We at Lambert Funeral Home extend our deepest condolences to all of her family and friends during this difficult time.
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