George Williams Sawyer
George Williams Sawyer, 83, died unexpectedly
on May 5, 2020
after several years of failing health. He
was born on Mother’s Day, May 10, 1936 in Fitchburg MA to Elizabeth (Williams)
and Walter F. Sawyer, Jr.
George
and older brother, Tom, became a pair, and remained close throughout their
lives. The two spent many happy
summers carousing with their cousins on the Vermont family farm, and George
carried a lasting love for its countryside.
To
say that he was not handy with tools would be an understatement - a carpenter’s
apprenticeship arranged by his father lasted just under 2 days - but with a
shovel and some decent snowfall, young George built a long love of skiing,
starting with homemade slopes in the yard, then moving on to conquer “Hospital
Hill,” a steep incline extending precipitously from Fitchburg’s Burbank
Hospital down to the main thoroughfare below - what some might call playing in
traffic - to hiking and descending Pack Monadnock, a 2,000 foot peak. His graceful technique was hailed by
all who witnessed it, including ‘60’s pop duo Sonny and Cher, who filmed him
while skiing in California.
“Jigger”
ran track and was football captain of the Red Raiders, graduating from
Fitchburg High School in 1955, where he was lauded as “dynamite with pigskin
and a demon on skis.” He served
two years in the Navy, stationed in Key West, FL, then studied business at
Boston University. What followed
was a long career in sales, successfully combining dual interests in
socializing and making money.
His
first job with Harvard Table Tennis landed him a spot on the ‘60’s TV game show
“What’s My Line?”, where a celebrity panel failed to guess his occupation as
“ping pong ball salesman.” Successive jobs led him to the West coast, where he lived in CA, then OR
as a salesman for Pendleton Woolen Mills, eventually returning to New England,
where his confirmed bachelorhood abruptly ended when he married young widow
Nancy and her 2 children, Susan and Matthew. George moved his new family to Cape Elizabeth, Maine, where
their son Tom was born.
George
embraced fatherhood by introducing his children to the outdoor life, with time
spent tenting, hiking, skiing, swimming and boating, little knowing what the
teen years would bring, but once they arrived, thankful his job required
travel.
After
a decade in Maine, the Sawyers moved to Amherst NH where they remain. George loved golf, and was known fondly
as “the guy with the big club.” Eventually he settled on more sedentary
interests, becoming an avid consumer of cookbooks, grills and the fruits of
their use. He and Nancy enjoyed
winter weeks in FL reuniting with old Cape Elizabeth friends. In Amherst, they have received the
great good fortune of grandchildren and more lasting friendships.
To
quote his niece, George was a man who “made the world a much more interesting
place.” While it cannot be said he
liked everyone he met, he gave and received delight from those he did. He got going when the going was tough
and helped us all through emergencies big and small. He did his job.
George
was predeceased by his parents and his brother and best friend, Walter (Tom) F.
Sawyer III. He is survived by his
beloved wife of 52 years, Nancy (Kean) Sawyer, daughter Susan and her husband
Ken Pelton of Chebeague Island, ME, son Matthew Sawyer and his wife Donna of Brookline,
NH, son George (Tom) W. Sawyer, Jr. and his wife Jolene of Milford, NH, 3
cherished granddaughters, Amy Sawyer, Meg and Sarah Sawyer, sister-in-law
Charleen Sawyer, nieces, nephews and cousins.
A memorial service will be held later in the summer. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to SHARE Outreach Inc., Milford NH at www.sharenh.org
