Frank C. Sawyer

Frank C. Sawyer Jr. 77 of Smyrna, TN formerly of Hanson and Attleboro passed away on Monday December 10, 2018. The beloved husband of the late RoseAnne (Dunham) Sawyer.

Born in Cambridge, MA he was the son of the late Frank C. Sr. and Olga (Chuprina) Sawyer. Loving Father of Jennifer Lumi and her husband Jim of TN and the late Amy Elizabeth Sawyer. Brother to Marianne Hagberg of IL and Sue Hemphill of NC.  Brother of the late Leon Sawyer.  Survived by many nieces and nephews.

At the age of 10 Frank lost his sight but that didn’t stop him from doing amazing things.  Raised in Reading, MA he attended Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown for five years. When his family moved to Hanson he attended Silver Lake Regional High School where he studied Automotive. He then went on to Franklin Technical Institute where he learned how to handle a variety of machines. Years later he attended Blue Hills Technical School Adult program to gain more experience in the machine shop.  Eventually he started Hanson Machine.  For years he would work as a machinist doing contract jobs including one making parts for airplane doors.  Frank was also a very accomplished carpenter.  He was most known for his picnic tables which he sold out of his barn on State St in Hanson.  They were sturdy pine and guaranteed for 25 years. Over the years he built a few tractors, that he would drive around his yard guided by a rope, gathering wood to heat his house. He and his friend Tony also built a couple of stock cars and had drivers race at tracks in MA and NH. They never won a race but always had a good time. He was instrumental in the construction of the waterwheel at the Nathanial Thomas Mill in Hanson and over the years was on the Board of Trustees of the mill.  He was a charter member of the Hanson Lions Club.  A longtime member of the First Congregational Church in Hanson, he was involved in the Cranberry Country fair as a chairperson of the wood crafts table and he would build birdhouses with children during vacation bible school. In later years he attended First Congregational of North Attleboro with his daughter and son-in-law. When the picnic table business slowed he continued building custom furniture and cabinets.  He would go to area elementary schools and build birdhouses and he taught a wood shop class at New England Villages.  Frank loved to work on clocks and built several over the years. He loved music and had an extensive record collection.  In his spare time, he tinkered with his talking computer and enjoyed talking books.

A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, January 19, 2019 at First Congregational Church of Hanson, 639 High St, Hanson, MA at 11AM with a collation immediately following in the church hall.   Burial will be private.

In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation in Frank’s name to Perkins School for the Blind, 175 North Beacon St, Watertown, MA 02472.

Arrangements by Leighton-MacKinnon Funeral Home.  4 West Washington St., Hanson MA.  Please feel free to leave an online condolence.

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