Jeanette Burke Sawyer

PRESS RELEASE FOR SAWYER FAMILY HOLDINGS, LLC

We are pleased to announce the promotion of Jeanette Burke Sawyer to an exciting new position in which to begin her encore career!

Ms. Sawyer gave us her notice in the early hours of January 3, 2020, just shy of the 96th year in her current position.  She received a call, an offer really, that she just couldn’t refuse and presented her resignation to us immediately.

Her previous experience began in Oak Park, Georgia on January 27, 1924.  She quickly ascended the ranks after her first transfer to the Vidalia, Georgia and Fort Myers, Florida offices respectively.

In her early career, she accomplished numerous achievements - that of a wife to Jennings Bryan Sawyer, mother to Donna Jean (Young), Jennings Bryan Sawyer Jr., and Thomas Edgar Sawyer (yes, she named her red-headed son, Tom Sawyer - the first of many zingers she would deliver over the years), florist for her beloved Russel Park Baptist church, and head nurse for the Emergency Room as well as the Cardiology Department at Lee Memorial Hospital - a position she held for over 35 years.  A formidable woman, both physically and temperamentally, she became known as “The Bouncer” of the ER during her graveyard shifts on weekends.  There wasn’t a cantankerous drunk or arrogant young EMT who would dare to take on Ms. Jeanette and come away unscathed.

Being the brilliant businesswoman that she was, she received her last major advancement, to that of Upper Management, approximately 20 years ago.  This provided her with a fully supportive staff to meet all of her needs, consisting of her previously mentioned adult children, Donna, Bryan, and Tom; sisters Grace Williamson and Shirley Browning; son-in-law Robert Young; daughter-in-love Linda Santillana; grandchildren Burke and Heather Young; and great-grandson Jacob Young, all of whom she leaves behind, but who absolutely doted on, and cared for, her.

While we would love to maintain Ms. Sawyer in her current position, the offer she has received is just not something we can match in either salary or benefits. 

It comes with a huge sign-on bonus (she’s basically royalty now - her new boss is a King, in fact), a reunion with family and friends she has not seen in a long time (including her adoring husband J.B.; her siblings Inez, Herman, and Vernon; and her fur-granddaughters Rachel and Chance), total job security (she’s truly set for eternity), and a compensation package that is outrageous (we haven’t heard any specifics, but the place is literally paved in gold, so it *has* to be at least six-figures).

Her relocation takes her to an outstanding locale where she has been granted an unprecedented housing situation (her new employers have lovingly prepared a place just for her) where she will be able to crochet, sing, garden, do word searches, watch Gaither Videos (or just pop in at Vestal’s for an afternoon concert), and nap to her heart’s content.  She’s even been given an all access pass to the executive supper club where they exclusively serve Farmer’s Market fried chicken, turnip greens, sweet potato casserole, and a Wendy’s frosty for dessert. And coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.

The offer required an immediate move, but she did leave detailed instructions for her former staff and coworkers upon her exit - to be joyful in celebrating her new career, “behave (y)ourselves or I’ll jerk a knot in your fanny,” and “I love you a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck.” 

A formal going away party for staff (family) members only will be held and immediately followed by a small, intimate, and brief ceremony outdoors (with limited seating and room) on Thursday, January 9, 2020 at 11:30am at Lee Memorial Park.

Honoring a career of fiscal responsibility and frugality, Ms. Sawyer would not want anyone to waste money on flowers to celebrate her promotion.  Instead, she would be delighted if you took your family to dinner and a movie, enjoyed a southern gospel concert, had a nice meal at a locally owned restaurant, or made a donation to the Wounded Warrior Project, which honors disabled veterans, a cause she and her oldest son, are passionate about.

Her career with us was a full and happy one and we are honored to celebrate the dash in the gap between her first day with us and her last.  We encourage other companies (and families) to do the same.

Mullins Memorial Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Cape Coral, is entrusted with final care.