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Obituary
Thomas Gladwin Sawyer died peacefully at home in Flamborough Township in the same house he and his wife Nancy purchased 53 years ago. He loved their country home and property and wanted to spend his final days there. He got his wish surrounded by his loving family on November 26, 2023.
Tom was born on a farm near Science Hill in Fullerton Township on September 26th, 1936. His knowledge of farming grew during his youth and led to him going to the University of Guelph for the diploma in agriculture program. Once he had completed the diploma, he had a professor who suggested Tom had what it took to enroll in the crop science degree program. Tom graduated from O.A.C. in 1964 thoroughly enjoying his years at the U of G. Tom was active in several varsity sports and was inducted into the Gryphon Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997 for football, hockey, and rugby. In 1997 Tom received the Alumni Volunteer Award for his contributions to Ontario agriculture and the university. By far, Tom’s happiest memory of his time at Guelph was meeting the love his life, his wife Nancy. They were wed in July 1964.
Tom’s working career had several phases. He first worked for Fisons and this led to Tom and Nancy living in Burlington, London, and Calgary. They moved back to Ontario, and he spent twenty-two years working in marketing and product development for Ciba-Geigy. One of Tom’s passions was to help educate farmers on safe pesticide use to decrease the possibility of pesticides contaminating ground water.
He then spent ten years working for The Fertilizer Institute of Ontario. Tom was committed to the safe use of fertilizers and commonly talked about the goal of being able to feed the entire world’s population.
Tom ‘retired’ in 1999, but then joined Sylvite where he worked to introduce several new product lines for agriculture. In 2017, Tom was inducted into the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame.
Tom is survived by his wife Nancy and two sons, Roy and Rob, daughter-in-law Alexis and granddaughters Stella and Beatrice. Tom was always supportive of his sons’ schooling and made sure to visit them no matter where their education or careers took them.
The highlight of the last fifteen years for Tom has been spending time with his granddaughters. They will fondly remember his smile, singing, dancing and big hugs.
He was a consummate gentleman who always shook your hand when meeting and always looked you in the eye. He held doors for everyone, stopped to help people on the side of the road with engine problems, flat tires or stuck in the snow and always treated everyone he met with kindness and respect.
Tom was a man who believed in the motto that you don’t learn anything when you are talking. He would ask several questions of everyone, listen carefully and then remember all that he was told and ask about things the next time they met. Young people who initially found Tom to be a bit odd with his shaking of their hand and introducing himself as Tom Sawyer would warm to him as he asked questions, learned about their interests, and then followed up with them when he saw them next. His sons would bump into former classmates and one of their first questions was, “How is your dad?!”
Tom touched so many people’s lives and will be greatly missed.
In lieu of flowers, we kindly ask that you consider donating to the Al Singleton hockey scholarship at the University of Guelph that Tom was an integral part of its creation and success.
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Death notice for the town of: Waterdown, Province: Ontario
death notice Thomas Gladwin Sawyer September 26 1936
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obituaries notice Thomas Gladwin Sawyer September 26 1936
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We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Thomas Gladwin Sawyer September 26 1936
November 26 2023 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.