Thomas Lee “Tom” Sawyer, 80, was born on Aug. 1, 1934, in Wichita, Kan. Tom passed away June 25, 2015 at Texas County Memorial Hospital in Houston, Mo.
Tom was preceded in death by his, wife Claretta (Laster) Sawyer, and one son, Nathan.
He is survived by his eldest son, Eric and his wife, Meg, of Buffalo, Mo., John and his wife, Jenny, of Houston, Mo.; a daughter, Diane (Sawyer) Martincich and her husband, Carl, of Oklahoma City, Okla.; three sisters, Julia Laster of Leadville, Colo., Linda Kiser of Paonia, Colo., and Eugenia Hall of Kearney, Neb.; 10 grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Tom and Claretta married on Dec. 3, 1960.
Tom’s love of flying with the Civilian Air Patrol led to his enlistment in the U.S. Air Force from 1952 until 1956. This also led to his employment in the FAA as an Air Traffic Controller until his retirement in 1975. The Sawyer family moved to Houston, Mo., in 1982. In the mid 80’s Tom started working for the Houston School District as a school bus driver and mechanic. He retired from Houston Schools in 2005.
During the time Tom worked for the school district he touched the hearts of many of the students that rode his bus. Tom’s greatest love was his grandchildren by birth and all other children, young and old, that adopted him as their “Papa.” It was not only a family that lost a loved one, but a whole community that lost one as well.
Services were 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 30, at the Ozark Baptist Church with the Rev. Ed Hamilton officiating. Burial was in the Ozark Cemetery. Pallbearers were Eric Sawyer, John Sawyer, Zechariah Sawyer, Thomas Sawyer, Greg VanHorn, Curry VanHorn and Malachi Sawyer.
Memorials may be made to Ozark Cemetery. Online condolences may be made at www.evansfh.com.
Services were under the direction of Evans Funeral Home.
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