BEGIN:VCALENDAR METHOD:PUBLISH VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:-//NONSGML WPForms//NONSGML Sugar Calendar Feeds v3.11.1//EN X-WR-CALNAME:Funeral for Gray Sawyer X-WR-CALDESC:St. Stephen'\;s Episcopal Church X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 DTSTART:20230312T070000 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 DTSTART:20230312T070000 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Funeral for Gray Sawyer DESCRIPTION:Funeral at 1pm in the sanctuary\, followed by a reception in the parish hall.\n\n\nGray Coughenour Sawyer\, of Colchester and former ly of Winston-Salem NC\, St. Louis MO\, and Wakefield MA\, passed away o n May 2\, 2023 at Backus Hospital in Norwich. She was 74 years old. Born to the late Richard and Mary (George) Coughenour on December 4\, 1948\, in Winston-Salem\, NC\, Gray was raised “in the shadow of tall booksh elves\,” inheriting a lifelong love of literature from both parents. G ray described her perfect day as one that involved a visit from a friend \, especially a visit from both her daughters together. She loved clean sheets\, a gray sky (it's right there in the name)\, sushi\, tomato tart s\, and lemon sherbet. She loved music\, especially “homemade” music : her husband playing the piano\, or her daughters singing. She loved to read and helping others learn to love reading. With a keen eye for each individual’s particular talents\, she mentored and encourage numerous girls and women while working for Girl Scouts of America’s Patriot’ s Trail Council\, generations of children and adults as a children’s l ibrarian at Lucius Beebe Memorial Library in Wakefield\, MA\, and helped guide the spiritual journeys of children\, laity\, and candidates for p riesthood through her work for the Episcopal church. She was a gifted st oryteller\, an insightful mentor\, and a resourceful leader who brought people together to work toward common goals. She loved her husband of 52 years\, Dana Sawyer\, her two daughters\, Mary and Nora\, her many frie nds\, and a lifetime’s worth of dogs\, cats\, and other rescues. She w as joyful\, gracious and kind\, and equipped both of her children with t he tools they will need to face the world without her. She spent her las t days charming the staff at Backus Hospital in Norwich\, CT\, and was s urrounded by friends who were as good as family and family members who w ere also friends. She passed away holding hands with both her daughters\ , listening to one of her favorite hymns: Hallelujah! We sing you praise s and All our hearts are filled with gladness. Her loss will be mourned by all who knew her\, especially her husband Dana\, her daughters and th eir spouses: Mary Clark Sawyer\, (Andrzej Lipski) of Portland\, CT\, Eli nor Gray “Nora” Sawyer (Brian Andrews) of Sausalito\, CA\; three sis ters\, Carolyn (Bill) Taylor of Somerville\, MA\, Ann Coughenour and Rub y Coughenour\, both of Winston-Salem\, NC\; and a host of beloved relati ves\, in-laws and friends.  As befits someone who wore so many hats\, G ray enjoyed wearing elegant fascinators at teas\, costume parties\, and other occasions. Mourners are encouraged to wear hats in her honor at a memorial service and celebration of Gray’s life that will be held on S aturday\, June 3\, 2023\, at 1:00 PM am at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Chu rch\, 31 Main St. E. Haddam. Burial will be in the adjoining memorial ga rden. Donations in her memory may be made to the Girl Scouts Council of Eastern Massachusetts\, or St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in East Hadd am. The Aurora-McCarthy Funeral Home of Colchester has been entrusted wi th care of arrangements. To sign the online guest book or share a memory of Gray\, please visit www.auroramccarthyfuneralhome.com URL;VALUE=URI:https://ststeves.org/events/funeral-for-gray-sawyer/ UID:urn:uuid:2dcbadb3-4ba2-4984-8026-e882a9b63ff5 STATUS:CONFIRMED ORGANIZER: DTSTAMP:20260628T081328Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230603T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230603T150000 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR