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SAPULPA -- Joe M. Sawyer, a former president of the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Association, died Wednesday. He was 79.
A service is set for 2 p.m. Friday at the Smith Funeral Home.
Sawyer was born Jan. 24, 1926, in Haysville, N.C.
After moving to Oklahoma in 1937, he attended Draughon School of Business in Tulsa and studied the liquefied petroleum gas industry.
During World War II, Sawyer served in the Merchant Marine before being transferred to the Army, where he was an officer.
He married Katherine Davenport in 1947 in Sapulpa.
Sawyer became involved with quarter horses after buying a stallion in the early 1950s. He began to breed and raise quarter horses on his land northwest of Sapulpa.
He was president of the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Association and was honorary vice president of the American Quarter Horse Association.
Also, he was arena director for both AQHA and Junior AQHA shows and was an international and national judge of quarter horses.
While not working with horses, Sawyer worked in the construction business as a subcontractor in Creek County. He also owned Sawyer Trenching, and he retired from the business in the late 1980s.
Sawyer was a member of the Akdar Shrine and was a 32nd Degree Mason.
He is survived by his wife, Katherine Sawyer; a son, Larry Sawyer of Sapulpa; a sister, Frankie Thompson of Sapulpa; two grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
From "The Sapulpa Herald," Thursday, July 21, 2005
Joe M. Sawyer died Thursday at the age of 79. He was born Jan. 24, 1926 in Haysville, N.C.
He was in the construction business and raised quarter horses. He served in the Merchant Marine and U.S. Army during World War II. He was past president of the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Association, honorary vice president of the American Quarter Horse Association, arena director for the AQHA and Junior AQHA horse shows and lifetime member of the American Quarter Horse Association.
He was an international and national judge for quarter horses, 32-degree Mason and member of Akdar shrine.
He is survived by his wife Katherine, of the home; son and daughter-in-law Larry and Carol Sawyer, of Sapulpa; grandchildren Scott and Shiloh Sawyer; great-grandson Andrew Sawyer; sister Frankie Thompson, of Sapulpa; brother-in-law and sister-in-law Deanne and Tom Reynolds, of Sapulpa; and many nieces and nephews.
Funeral services are 2 p.m. Friday, July 22, 2005 at the Smith Funeral Chapel with the Rev. Archie Rivers officiating. Interment will be in Green Hill Memorial Gardens under the direction of the Smith Funeral Home.
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