Myron’s Obituary Myron Ansel Sawyer, a life-long resident of Du Page County, passed into the presence of his Lord on Tuesday, March 19, 2019 at Windsor Park’s Johnson Healthcare Center in Carol Stream, IL. Born in Wheaton, IL on January 16, 1929, to John and Kathleen (Sears) Sawyer, Myron was home schooled with his five younger siblings at 729 Irving Street in Wheaton. He attended Wheaton Central High School and then Wheaton College, where he graduated with a B.A. in Music in 1951.
After college, he served in the U.S. Navy aboard the U.S.S. Kaskaskia in the Korean War. Upon his return to Wheaton, he met his sweetheart, Jean Allison Wright, as he taught Sunday School at College Church for the high school boys and she for the high school girls. They wed at College Church on July 27th, 1957.
The newlyweds moved to Naperville, where Myron commuted to his work with the Burlington Northern Railroad. They raised their four children at 619 N. Center Street and were active in the community and at the Naperville Evangelical Free Church (now Compass Church) where Myron served as an elder. In 1981, Myron and Jean returned to College Church, where Myron was a deacon, an elder, and sang in the choir.
Myron also served on the Wheaton College Alumni Board and as the Director of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Credit Union Cicero. He was a member of the American Legion Post 43, the Burlington Northern Leisure Club, and took an active role in the Overseas Missionary Fellowship’s local prayer group. Myron is legendary among friends and family for his deep commitment to his faith, his love for classical music, his knowledge of railroads, his amazing vegetable garden, his ability to fix anything, his never-graying hair, and the physical stamina to rollerblade until he was 84!
Myron was preceded in death by his brother, Spencer Sawyer, and brother-in-law, Alan Richardson. He is survived by his wife, Jean, and their four children: Blythe (Terry) Merrifield of Setauket, NY; Jeanette (Mark) Faris of Burke, VA; Myron (Donna) Sawyer, Jr. of Holland, MI; and Nancy (Bob) Schraeder of Fullerton, CA; and by eight grandchildren: Ross Faris, Ted (Sarah) Faris, Matthew Schraeder, Joseph Sawyer, Kyle Schraeder, Liz Merrifield, Allison Schraeder, and Sara Sawyer. Also surviving him are his brothers and sisters Sylvia (Ben) Kietzman of West Chicago, IL; John (Coralie) Sawyer of Siloam Springs, AK; Ellen Richardson of Elizabethton, TN; and Joe (Ann) Sawyer of Dallas, TX, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 30th, at Hultgren Funeral Home, 304 N. Main St., in Wheaton, IL. The funeral will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 31st, at College Church, 332 E. Seminary Ave. , in Wheaton.
Interment will be at Wheaton Cemetery on Monday, April 1st, at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Myron’s honor to the construction of the new Concert Hall in the Armerding Center for Music and the Arts at Wheaton College (wheaton. edu/giving, please designate the Armerding Center for Music and the Arts). Checks may be mailed to: Wheaton College, Armerding Center tor Music and the Arts Concert Hall, 501 College Ave.
, Wheaton, IL 60187, Attention: Anna Walsh, Advancement.
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