Ed Sawyer died Dec. 17, 2010, at his home in St. Johnsbury, Vt., of complications related to lymphoma.

Ed was a well-known figure in northeastern Vermont who frequently expressed his informed opinions on a wide range of social and political issues.

Born on July 29, 1927, Ed grew up in Rockville Centre, N.Y., and graduated from South Side High School. He then enlisted in the Marine Corps, serving until October 1946.

After graduation from Princeton in 1950, Ed began a career in advertising and marketing at Procter & Gamble and subsequently worked for General Foods. His marriage to Marilyn Zimmerman ended in divorce. Sadly, their daughter, Donna Deane Sawyer Scala, predeceased Ed in July 2010.

In the early 1960s, disillusioned with the corporate “rat race,” Ed left Connecticut and settled in East Haven, Vt., with his new partner, Irene French Davis. Ed and Irene created a woodworking business, the Olde Tyme Toy Co., which produced high-quality wooden toys and premiums for national marketing campaigns. Ed estimated they made nearly 200,000 signature wooden rocking horses. Irene predeceased Ed in 2005.  

Ed is survived by his son, Sean E. Sawyer ’88; two grandsons; a granddaughter; and a great-grandson.

Undergraduate Class of 1949