Joanne Slade Sawyer

Joanne Slade Sawyer, 75, passed away peacefully on Tuesday morning, April 23, 2013. She was born on April 10, 1938 to Flora and Tom Slade and soon moved to Starke, Florida, where she graduated from Bradford County High School. She met her husband, Charlie, while attending Emory University. They married and settled in Jacksonville, Florida, where they raised three, well-loved children together.

Throughout her life, Joanne was a great believer in community trusteeship and was both very active and very successful in her choices of where to serve. She was a natural leader, consensus builder, and highly organized. Her accomplishments are extensive. Over the years she served as Leadership Jacksonville President, was a PTA President, President of an award winning Junior Women’s Club, President of the Women’s Society of Christian Service, and was awarded a lifetime membership for her service. She was President of the Women’s Guild of the Children’s Museum, which included oversight of the Nutcracker Ballet and the annual Haunted House. She was Chair of the Bolles School Jubilee Auction, was a Scout leader and a Sunday school teacher.

Joanne served on the Methodist Hospital Board of Directors, served on the United Way Board on the analysis and distribution side, served on the Urban League Board, was Secretary of the Jacksonville Chamber’s Community Affairs Board, served on the Deerwood Country Club Board and was originator and editor of “Table Treasures,” a cookbook marketing tool for the National Propane Gas Association.

She was the originator and author of a drug education and testing program for private sector employees, which became the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce’s highly successful Put Drugs Out of Business program, which trained some 350,000 employees in northeast Florida. For this program, Joanne was honored to receive the Citizen of the Year Award from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Joanne believed life was an amazing journey and participated passionately in everything that held interest. As a high school student, she lived and worked with missionaries in pre-Castro Cuba, was the sweetheart of Sigma Chi fraternity at Emory (where she lured Charles) and a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She was a competitive tennis player with the Deerwood City Championship teams, loved books, learning, and was a wicked bridge player. Her favorite City was London, her favorite island was Green Turtle Cay, and she believed the Napa Valley, the place and the people, to be among the loveliest places on earth. She was an accomplished cook who enjoyed entertaining, and guests could always count on good food, lively conversation, and great wine.

She was an involved and tenacious mother, loving grandmother, devoted daughter and wife. She was a loving and loyal friend who never betrayed a confidence. She was blessed to have many life-long friends, who together raised their children, buried their dead, and shared their joys and sorrows alike. Hers was a life well lived.

Joanne is survived by her loving husband of 54 years, Charles, her three children, Suzanne and her husband Craig, Charlene and her husband Dean, her son John, and her very special girl, granddaughter Bailey, her sister Susan and her husband John, her brother Tom, her sister Flo (predeceased) and her husband Mike (predeceased) and seven nieces and nephews and their precious families, whom she enjoyed so much, and many very special friends.

Memorial services will be held at eleven o’clock in the morning on Thursday, April 25, 2013 at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, 7500 Southside Boulevard, Jacksonville, Florida 32256 with Reverend Mal Jopling officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Episcopal Church of the Redeeemer or Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, Department of Development, 4500 San Pablo Road, Jacksonville, Florida 32224. Hardage-Giddens, The Oaklawn Chapel, 4801 San Jose Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32207 is serving the family.