W. Sawyer

W. David Sawyer passed away peacefully on October 2nd. He was at home surrounded by his family in front of a warming fire. He was born on December 1, 1935 in Indianapolis to Roscoe and Jessie Sawyer and grew up on Winthrop Avenue just outside of the State Fairgrounds. He attended Shortridge High School and after graduation attended Butler University. In 1958, Dave and Lynn VanWyngarden were married in Holcomb Gardens. After serving in the Marine Corps Reserve, he entered the world of sales and manufacturing. He began his career at his father-in-law's company, ColorCraft Corporation, followed by the Ransburg Corporation. He started his own manufacturers' representative business, Dave Sawyer & Associates, in 1971. Over the course of his career he started, grew and sold several small businesses, including Wilmarc and the Stone Center of Indiana. After family and friends, sailing and cycling were his passions. He sailed most of the Caribbean islands, raced from New York City to St. Thomas as well as Norfolk to Bermuda. In 2005 he sold his last sailboat and bought his first 'stinkpot' trawler much to the chagrin of his friends. And while he did not admit it openly, this was his favorite boat of all. This boat, 'Initiative', allowed him to spend winters in the Abacos traveling between the islands and around the coast of Florida. This was also a great excuse to have family reunions in wonderful places. While he was land-locked in Indianapolis, he covered many a mile riding his bicycle around town and was a huge fan of the new Monon Trail as well as the Fairgrounds where he was so grateful to the kind employees there who let him tour the grounds. Dave was never one to shy away from travel or a new adventure, whether he knew the language or not. For that open attitude to the world and sharing it with us, our family will be forever in his debt. He was a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, the Indianapolis Gyro Club and SCORE as a counselor to small businesses. He also loved to sing and was a member of The Indianapolis Maennerchor. He is survived by his loving wife Lynn and his children Brad, Brian, Mark and Melanie. His grandchildren Will, Annabelle, Arden and Griffin were very special to Dave and he loved every minute spent with them. Of his original Indianapolis family he is survived by his brother Richard Sawyer of Ft. Meyers and sister Kaye Doyle of St. Helena, California. A service will be held on Saturday, October the 6th at 11:00 AM at the Union Chapel United Methodist Church, 2720 E. 86th Street. Calling will be held on Friday, October 5 from 5-7 PM at Flanner and Buchanan- Broad Ripple, 1305 E. Broad Ripple Avenue. Donations in memory of David may be sent to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Indiana (www.lls.org). You are invited to go to the Guest Book page to pass along your personal message or tell a story. Sincerely, -Your friends at Flanner and Buchanan