Thomas M. Sawyer Jr.

Thomas M. Sawyer Jr. '39 died on March 17, 2005. He was eighty-seven and a resident of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

At Kenyon, Tom was a biology major and a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity.

Following his graduation from Kenyon, Tom served as a teacher of English at Iolani School in Honolulu, Hawaii. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he served as a medical aidman and first-aid instructor with the Red Cross Civilian Defense. He returned to Kenyon as instructor in speech from 1942 to 1943 and then joined the American Field Service as an ambulance driver. From 1943 until 1945 he served in India, Assam, and Burma, as well as Italy, Belgium, and Holland.

After the war, Tom earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in speech from the University of Michigan and began his long career teaching English, humanities, and public speaking in the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. He was a Fulbright lecturer in English at the West Pakistan University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore and the University of Peshawar in 1963-64. In 1972, he was a visiting professor at the University of Wales in Cardiff, and in 1983 he lectured on technical writing in Pretoria, South Africa.

Following his retirement in 1987, Tom tutored in technical writing courses in Denmark, England, and Sweden, and tutored doctoral candidates in engineering in how to give speeches on technical subjects to lay audiences.

Tom is survived by two daughters, Sally Scrivani and Susan Miller; a son, Charles F. Sawyer; six granddaughters, Julia Scrivani, Taylor and Morgan Miller, and Sarah, Caitlin, and Rebecca Sawyer; and three grandsons, Samuel and Michael Sawyer and William Scrivani.

Do you have feedback on this page?