Lucy Ann Sawyer

Lucy Ann (Ayer) Sawyer, 88, of New Kent, Virginia, went to her next great adventure on Feb. 21, 2025.

Lucy was born in Lewiston, Maine, on Oct. 9, 1936, to Fred and Marie Ayer. As a child, she was known to tap dance on the roof and paint on her bedroom walls.

In 1959, she married Ed Swayer, having five children together. They spent 23 years travelling across the country while Ed was in the Air Force. Lucy was a self-taught artist and painted using numerous mediums including oils, acrylic, watercolors, and silk dyes.

Lucy and Ed moved to New Kent, Virginia, in 1994, where they opened the Sawyer Studio. She taught art classes for many years. Lucy brought a bright light to her studio and her students that she adored and loved very much. She was a prolific painter, and her artwork can be found throughout the county, country, and world, with artwork appearing inside New Kent County Courthouse, Chickahominy Family Practice Facility, and the Vincent Funeral Home. In addition to painting, Lucy was a talented beautician, entrepreneur, gardener, cook, and cake decorator. She also spent many years working with children at Stokes Elementary School in Rome, New York.

Lucy was preceded in death by her daughter, Christine Marie Sawyer; and her brothers, Freddie and Dick.

She is survived by her husband, Edward Sawyer; their children, Carol (Ted), Cindy (Dan), Don (Yong Mi), and Elinda (Jason); ten grandchildren, Kendall, Taylor, Danny, Katie, Patrick, Lisa, Kevin, Brandon, Brian, and Joshua; seven great-grandchildren, Hazel, Matthew, Sloane, Kai, Brooks, Bo, and Korra; and her brother, Bill (Sherry).

One of Lucy’s favorite activities was giving, which included her time, artistic knowledge, artwork, recipes, sage advice, and anything she thought would bring joy to others. In light of this, donations would be appreciated to her favorite charities of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Tunner to Towers, or a local county animal shelter.