Elizabeth Lousie "Liz" DeVore

Elizabeth Louise “Liz” DeVore died June 10, 2026—two months shy of her 93rd birthday—at Latta Road Nursing Home in Rochester, New York, where she resided most recently. She was a gifted artist, cook, baker and pianist and was lovingly known by family and friends as “Mom”, “Grandma”, “Mema”, “Liz”, “Lizzie” and “Betty”.

She is predeceased by her loving husband, William Elliott “Bill” DeVore, who passed away in April 2020, shortly before the couple’s 66th wedding anniversary.

Elizabeth was born Aug. 11, 1933, to William N. and Fredonia (Truman) Sauerbier in West Sparta, New York, and grew up among two brothers and one sister, spending their early years living on a farm before the family moved to Rochester. She attended St. Salome Catholic School through eighth grade during which time she wrote to penpals in Czechoslovakia and England. She graduated from Irondequoit High School in 1951 and worked in a secretarial position at Kodak after high school.

Elizabeth met her late husband, Bill, in 1953 while serving as a hostess for a United Service Organizations (USO) function in Rochester. Bill, who was in the Air Force, asked her to dance. The two ate coconut cake with friends, and the rest is history. Bill later proposed to Elizabeth, taking her to Lover’s Leap in the mountains of Cumberland, Maryland. Nine months after their first dance at the USO, the two were married May 1, 1954, at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Rochester and honeymooned in the Poconos.

The couple spent some of their early marriage with Bill stationed in Puerto Rico and later in Montana, during which time Elizabeth became a mother in 1956. Following Bill’s time in the Air Force, the family returned to New York, settling down in Gates where they raised their four children and lived for 63 years.

Along with raising her children, Elizabeth was involved in everything from being a Cub Scouts den mother to sewing matching outfits for her young daughters, and she later volunteered at the Garden Center of Rochester and as a literacy volunteer. She completed a data processing course through WeMoCo, and in the 1980s, she was employed by Personnel Pool in a variety of clerical positions as well as with the Gates Public Library to barcode books.

Elizabeth was a self-taught artist, a member of the Chili Art Group from 1998-2000 with paintings on exhibit there, and a gifted creator, enjoying cross stitch, knitting and crocheting. She also enjoyed making specialty birthday cakes for loved ones, riding bikes along the Erie Canal and playing games. Elizabeth had a love for coconut cake, Mounds bars and anything chocolate and could always be found wearing stylish clothes, often with a pearl necklace and earrings.

She will be remembered for her gift of hospitality; Elizabeth loved to entertain with a home-cooked meal and host the family’s holiday gatherings. Her cookie jar was always full of freshly made cookies, and let’s not forget her homemade oatmeal waffles, buttery mashed potatoes, donuts, tuna melts—the list goes on.

Throughout their years in Gates, Elizabeth and Bill attended Gates Presbyterian and Gates Wesleyan churches and were members of the Genesee Valley Antique Car Society.

The two loved traveling, going everywhere from Florida to California to Ireland, in addition to family cross-country trips in their motorhome or by sight-seeing train—many of which were captured in photo albums that lined the shelves of their home. Elizabeth loved pouring over the albums filled with those memories, recounting the good ol’ days and often telling beloved anecdotes from years past.

Elizabeth will be dearly missed by her children Donna (Michael) Dagobert, John (Jamie) DeVore, Laurie (Gregory) Dembowski and Donn (Oscar ValVerde) DeVore; her grandchildren Sarah (Dale Mohr) DeVore, Allison (Kristoffer) Hamann, Anna (Kevin) Lotz and Rachel DeVore; granddaughter-in-law Nathalie DeVore; eight great-grandchildren; brother-in-law Robert (Beverly) DeVore; nephew Don Sauerbier; former daughter-in-law Heather McAlpin; and two dear friends Dolly Lauria and Loretta Pereira. She is preceded in death by her parents; husband Bill; brothers Frederick and Richard Sauerbier; sister Vesta "Vicki" (Sauerbier) Stauffer; nephew Bill Sauerbier; and grandson Joshua DeVore.

Her body was interred alongside that of her beloved husband at the Gardenview Mausoleum at White Haven Memorial Park in Pittsford on June 12, 2026.

A memorial service will be held at the convenience of the family.