The soul of Joseph (Wayne) Sawyer of Inverness Florida went home to be with our Lord Jesus Christ on Thursday, February 17, 2022. Less than two months prior, Wayne watched his beloved bride Alice of nearly 67 years, pass away due to troubled health and it quite literally broke his heart. Both will be dearly missed by family and friends. Wayne leaves behind his three sons, Tom Sawyer and his wife Tracy of Citrus Springs, Florida, John Sawyer and his fiancé Andrea Carr of Winterville, Georgia, and Scott Sawyer of Indianapolis, Indiana, one deceased daughter, Janet Sawyer Muse of Roswell, Georgia, and her husband Chip Muse, also of Roswell, Georgia. He also leaves behind eight grandchildren, six step grandchildren, and two great-granddaughters.
Wayne grew up as a Preachers Kid (PK), as his father was an itinerate Methodist minister in the East Ohio Conference, which meant the family moved around to several churches without establishing deep roots. But he did develop fond memories of two towns he considered home, which were Andover, Ohio near Lake Pymatuning, and the second was Monticello, Indiana where many summers of his childhood were spent fishing with his granddad at the base of Norway Dam. After high school he attended Mt. Union College in Alliance, Ohio where he excelled in track and field. During that time, he met and married his sweetheart, Alice, and began a life together, full of church involvement, coaching youth teams, pursuing historical interests, reading many books, doing crossword puzzles daily, and spending countless hours going fishing. Wayne had a varied professional career over his lifetime from a color separator for Eastman Kodak Company in Phenix City, Alabama, to a business broker for National Marketing in Cincinnati, Ohio. During time in Cincinnati, he bought a small farm in New Richmond, Ohio and raised cows, horses, pigs, and chickens. But his favorite animals were his pet dogs, and he was never without one, even to his final days. In the mid 1970’s, Wayne and Alice became the managers of Morgan’s Canoe Livery, a canoe rental in Brookville, Indiana. It was a rustic time full of history and adventure on the Whitewater River and Wayne loved it. In 1976, Wayne and the family moved to Athens, Georgia where Wayne returned to the brokerage business. In the years to follow Wayne also returned to his passions with the printing industry and ran several printing companies in Athens, Georgia: of which his favorite was Images Today where he was owner and President. It was also in those years that he took up teaching at Clarke Central High School in Athens, Georgia as the graphic arts teacher and the C-Team football coach. While teaching, he finished his Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in education at the University of Georgia, to which he felt very proud.
Wayne loved to fish, whether it be deep sea fishing for King Mackerel or Grouper, to chasing Striper Bass on a big lake, or simply floating a bobber with an old cane pole in a creek. After nearly twenty years in Georgia, Wayne and Alice semi-retired and moved to Floral City, Florida, where Wayne had selected a good lake for his fishing passion. Wayne received a realtor license with the state of Florida and began working at Coldwell Banker and later with Cridland and Cridland, both of Inverness, Florida. Wayne was also a proud American, and he was passionate about supporting his local Government, as evidenced by both he and Alice volunteering as voting poll coordinators. While living in Floral City, Wayne was involved with the Citrus/Hernando Waterways Restoration Council-Citrus County Tsala-Apopka Chain of Lakes Task Force in defense of the Tsala-Apopka Lake system. In their final years, Wayne and Alice fully retired and moved to the Royal Oaks community of Inverness, Florida.
Throughout all the years of his life the most important truth for Wayne was his ever-growing love and relationship for Jesus Christ and the churches he attended. He was heavily involved in the Bethel Bible Series, Sunday school classes, and the support of whichever church he was a member of. In his end he fostered a deep love and respect for God within the hearts of his children and they rejoice knowing they will see their mom and dad again.
Wayne’s memorial service will be Saturday March 5, 2022, at 11:00 am at the New Hope United Methodist church in Istachatta (Floral City). A small reception afterwards in the fellowship hall is planned. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to: Tunnel to Towers Foundation, 2361 Hylan Blvd., Staten Island, NY 10306 Cremation with Care arrangements provided by the Chas. E. Davis Funeral Home with Crematory, Inverness, FL.
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