ORA JANE (KILGORE) SAWYER

Ora Jane Kilgore Sawyer, 88, passed away on March 24, 2023, in Brunswick, Georgia. She was born March 16, 1935, in Randolph, County, Georgia, in the community of County Line, near Springvale, to James Lee and Dorothy Ward Kilgore. She was educated in the Cuthbert, Georgia public schools, and graduated with honors from Cuthbert High School in 1953.

She attended Andrew College, Cuthbert, where she received her A.A. degree in 1955. She then attended Georgia State College for Women (now Georgia College & State University) where she received a B.S. in Business Administration in 1957. She continued her post-graduate studies at the University of Tennessee Knoxville (M.S., 1958) and University of Georgia (E.Ds., 1973).

In December 1957, she married Lamar Sawyer, also of Springvale/Randolph County, Georgia. Both had long careers in education as teachers and administrators.

Mrs. Sawyer taught business subjects for 15 years before becoming Director of Cooperative Education, Career Planning, and Placement at Georgia Southwestern State University. She retired as Associate Professor Emerita in 1989.

After retirement, Lamar and Ora Jane moved back to Springvale, Georgia, where they made their home, becoming active members of First Baptist Church in Cuthbert, Georgia, and of the community at large.

Lamar preceded her in death in 2004, and in 2008, Ora Jane moved to St. Simon’s Island to be near her daughter. While in St. Simon’s, she was an active member of First Baptist Church, St. Simon’s Island, and took on numerous volunteer roles, both in the church and in the community.

Memorial services will be conducted at 2:00 PM in the Cuthbert First Baptist Church on Saturday, April 8, 2023. Lunsford Funeral Home in Cuthbert, Georgia, is in charge of arrangements.

She is survived by a daughter, Mary Carolyn Warr (Jim), of St. Simon’s Island; a son, Robert Lamar (Bob) Sawyer, Jr. (Holly), of Duluth, GA; four grandchildren: James Harrison Warr, Jr. (Anna) of Birmingham, AL; Courtney Warr McGregor (Bob), of Birmingham, AL; Emma Katherine Sawyer, Kennesaw, GA; Rachel Elizabeth Sawyer, Duluth, GA; and five great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in her name to the general fund First Baptist Church, St. Simon’s Island; the Dorcas Group at First Baptist, St. Simon’s Island; or the general fund of First Baptist Church, Cuthbert, Georgia.

LUNSFORD FUNERAL HOME

CUTHBERT, GA 229/732-2148

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