header 1
header 2
header 3

Stephen J. Sawyer

Profile Updated: July 9, 2022
Stephen J. Sawyer
Class Year
1962
Residing In
Taftville, CT USA
Spouse/Partner
Ann D. Sawyer
Homepage
Occupation during your working years
Engineer, Accountant
Any Children or grand children?
3 children - Edward 1976, Andrew 1978, Kathryn 1981
8 grandchildren - 4 boys, 4 girls
And a More…surprise on the way, due January 2023.
Yes! Attending Reunion
Comments about life and living

For 50th class reunion in 2012:
I can hardly believe it, 50 years since Okemos High School. I still don't feel that old, and definitely not that mature. The time has gone quickly. After leaving high school, I attended the U. of Michigan, getting a bachelors degree in Mechanical engineering, followed by an MBA in accounting and finance. Upon graduation, I went to Chicago where I became a CPA and worked for one of the big accounting firms. I found out that I preferred to do the work and not audit others' work, so I left and went into industry. I worked for several industrial companies in paper products, machine manufacturing, and finally ended up in plastics where I spent the last 20 years of my career. While in Chicago, I met and married my wife, Ann. She is a psychotherapist and continues to work part-time, planning to retire fully at age 70.

We have three children, two boys and a girl. The oldest son is an accountant in San Francisco, the second son works in investment banking in New York, and the daughter is a nurse in Greenwich, CT. While they were growing up, I did a lot of coaching - basketball, soccer and baseball. When I retired in 2004, my wife and I moved to Reno, but our kids complained that it was too far away (the older son was in DC at the time), so we only stayed about a year and moved back east. Little did I know that the second son had a dream to own a vineyard and winery. He has kept his day job, so I'm the one on the ground, so to speak. We had our first plantings in 2008 and our first harvest last fall in 2011. We also bought grapes last fall and are making our first vintage which we'll be bottling this summer. Check us out at prestonridgevineyard.com. I plan to bring some wine to the reunion so all of us can have a toast.

Update for 60th reunion in 2022:
When we get to our age, it seems that we can't have a conversation without discussing our health so i'll cover that first. In 2014, I had a stroke, but it was caught quickly so I didn't suffer much damage, but because I had AFIB, I was fitted with a pacemaker. Then last year (2021), my cardiologist found that my tricuspid valve was leaking and put me through some tests. these found some blockages in my heart. Bottom line was that I had open heart surgery, a double bypass and a valve repair and I have recovered well and feel well. I think that I'll still have a few more years on the planet.
I'm still working at my son's winery which is doing well. That gives me the impetus to get out of bed in the morning. And my wife is also doing well, working part-time as a mental therapist so she also keeps me busy.
My son has now moved from New York to the winery property so we have 3 of our grandchildren to provide entertainment, mostly kid's sports. My oldest son that was in San Francisco has moved to Denver so we don't see him, or his 3 children often enough, especially in the past couple years, but that is changing. His children are the oldest of our grandchildren being in high school and middle school.
That's about it. I hope all of you are doing well and will attend the 60th. And the 70th too.

Stephen J.'s Latest Interactions

Hide Comments
Jul 09, 2022 at 12:20 PM