Winfield R. Sawyer

      SAWYER, Winfield R., 90, MAPLETON, at Presque Isle, May 21, 2014. Arrangements are under the care of Duncan-Graves Funeral Home, Presque Isle.

    MAPLETON – Winfield R. Sawyer, 90, went home to be with the Lord on May 21, 2014, at Presque Isle. He was born in Presque Isle Hospital July 1, 1923, the son of Ivan H. and Clara (Coffin) Sawyer.
    He was a graduate of Mapleton High School in 1941. Winfield was a lifetime member of the Mapleton Alumni Association. In the fall of 1941, he entered Maine School of Commerce in Bangor (now Husson College) and majored in business administration. During the 1940s, he and Maurice Carvell started Boy Scout Troop 170 and a few years later, he became scoutmaster. He became the third generation to farm the Sawyer family farm, farming with his father from 1943 until 1951 when he bought land of his own to raise potatoes and grain as a rotation crop until 1983.
    After he finished farming, he became a crop loss adjuster for Federal Crop Insurance Company, then for Crop Hail Management Company, and then for Rain & Hail LLC as lead adjuster helping farmers recover some of their losses from poor crops. Winfield did claim adjustment work until his retirement in 2001.
    He loved carpentry and wood working as many of his family and church members can attest to his helping them with many of their projects over the years. He was actively involved in the Haystack Historical Society, serving as Project Manager, vice president and president at different times.
    He accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour early in his life, and loved the Lord  with all his heart and was active serving in the Mapleton United Baptist Church and State Street Baptist Church for many years, worshiping and serving there until his death.
    He was predeceased by his parents, Ivan and Clara (Coffin) Sawyer; his wife, Alice (MacNeill) Sawyer; and his sister, Winnifred Elaine Ashby of Texas.
    He is survived by his brother, Vernon Sawyer and his wife, Marilyn of Presque Isle; his son, Larry Sawyer and his wife, Debbie of Castle Hill;  his daughter, Connie Sawyer Duchardt and her husband, Roger of Presque Isle; four grandchildren, Jennifer Sawyer Buzza and her husband, Aaron of Mapleton, Julie Sawyer Powers and her husband, Zachary of Presque Isle, Christopher Duchardt and his wife, Melissa of Presque Isle, and Melinda Duchardt Corey and her husband, Brian of Presque Isle; nine great-grandchildren:  Madelyn Kay Buzza, McKenna LaFave, Kaylee Collins, Isaac Duchardt, Silas Duchardt, Alice Corey,  Elizabeth Corey, Jonathan Corey, and Augustus “Gus” Powers.
    Funeral services were held at Duncan Graves Funeral Home, 30 Church Street, Presque Isle, Friday, May 23, 2014, at 2 p.m. with Pastors Mark McKeen and Buck Booker officiating. Interment was in the Southside Cemetery in Mapleton. Friends who wish may make donations in his memory to State Street Baptist Church, P.O. Box 826, Presque Isle, ME 04769, or to Cornerstone Christian Academy, P.O. Box 743, Presque Isle, ME 04769. Online condolences may be shared at www.duncan-graves.com.