James T Sawyer

Jim Sawyer was born in Lubbock on June 1, 1930 to Ray C. Sawyer and Martha James Tatum Sawyer. He attended the first six grades of school in Plainview, the seventh grade in Amarillo, and grades eight through twelve in Lubbock. He graduated from Lubbock High School in 1947. He graduated from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1951 with a B.S. degree in Business Administration. He was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha social and Delta Sigma Pi professional business fraternities. On a blind date in 1950, he met his future lifetime love and best friend, Janet Reich McDonald, from Springfield, Missouri. They were married in Springfield on December 23, 1952. There followed a remarkable marriage of almost 58 years in which each one of them was the other’s lover, advisor, nursemaid, cheerleader, and companion-of-choice. From July, 1951 through September, 1953 he served in the U.S. Air Force.

Upon release from active duty with the Air Force, Jim and Janet returned to Amarillo, where he became Assistant Purchasing Agent for the City of Amarillo until he entered the real estate business in 1955. He was a Realtor until 1967, serving as president of the Amarillo Board of Realtors, and he was twice named Realtor of the Year. He was president of the Rotary Club for South and West Amarillo, and was a Vestryman of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Amarillo.

In 1967, he moved to Austin to begin his career with the Texas Association of Realtors, where he remained until 1990. From 1967 to 1979, he was the Administrative Director, and from 1979-1990 he was the association’s Executive Vice President. In 1990,he was Chairman of the Executive Officers Council of the National Association of Realtors. He held the Certified Association Executive designation.

He was an active communicant of St. David’s Episcopal Church, serving as Business Administrator from 1992 to 1995, and was twice elected as a Vestryman. He was Senior Warden of St. David’s in 1998. In 1995, U T’s Division of Continuing Education organized UT SAGE (Seminars for Adult Growth and Enrichment), and Jim and Janet were Founding Members. This became a major interest of both of them from that time on. In addition to the educational aspect of the classes, they found many items of common interest with other UT SAGE members, including social functions and eventual travel, both in the U.S. and in foreign countries.

He was also a member of the Rotary Club of Austin and the Headliners Club. Additional interests were his family, photography, and gardening.

He is survived by his wife, Janet; his son and daughter in law, James Randall Sawyer and Mary Sawyer of Denton; daughters and sons in law Marliann S. Park and Alan Park of Houston; Susan C. Sitton and Brent Sitton of Louisville, CO, brother and sister in law, Thomas R.Sawyer and Mary Jo Sawyer of Frisco, TX, and his sister-in-law, Ann McDonald of Austin. In addition, seven grandchildren survive: James Alan Park and Lillian Park of Houston, James A. Sawyer of Denton, and Katherine Sitton, Madeleine Sitton, Parker Sitton and Olivia Sitton of Louisville,CO.

Services will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 12th at St. David’s Episcopal Church, 301 East 8th St. In lieu of flowers, memorials are requested to the Endowment Fund of St. David’s Episcopal Church (301 E. 8th St., Austin, TX 78701-3280), The Settlement Home for Children (1600 Payton Gin Rd., Austin, TX 78758-6506), or to your favorite charity.