Gregory A. Mauer,72, was born April 9, 1948 in Hayward Park, MN to Betty (Glenz) Mauer and Frank Mauer. They moved to St. Cloud, where Greg graduated from Technical High School in 1966. Greg enlisted in the Air Force, became a tanker KC-135 crew chief, and spent a year at Phu Cat Air Base, Vietnam. He transferred to Ellsworth AFB, SD, worked as a missile site facility manager, earned the rank of Master Sergeant, and retired in 1989, then worked 11 years in corporate security at Green Tree.

Greg's younger brother, Bruce, died when Greg was 13. Later that year, his parents divorced. Rather than traumatizing him, these events helped make Greg self-reliant, strong, yet compassionate. Greg was known for his generosity, humility, wisdom, long talks, and love of helping strangers and friends alike. To his wife, "He was the best husband and father one could hope for."

Greg was passionate about sharing his faith in Jesus! To ease the pain of losing a loved one, he distributed carefully crafted envelopes to hundreds, which shared his faith and contained end-of-life checklists (one for before and another for after a funeral). He also enjoyed gifting silver dollars (to veterans) and half dollars.

Greg died on January 13, 2021 at home from pancreatic cancer. Greg is survived by his wife of 44 years, Karen, their children, Mark, of Rapid City, and Sarah (Wesley) Shane, of Kapaa, HI, an uncle, and cousins. Predeceasing him are his parents and brother.

A private family service will be held at a later date. A dear friend reflected, "If everyone who Greg blessed got together, the crowd wouldn't fit inside the building!" If you would like to share a memory of Greg with his family, please e-mail bhsd@rushmore.com .