Furniture Retailer Wendell Sawyer Sr. Dies

August 30, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Obituaries on August 31, 2010

Wendell Sawyer Sr., founder of Sawyer Furniture in Prichard, Al., died Sunday, the Press-Register reported Tuesday.

Sawyer, 73, had been fighting leukemia. A 54-year furniture retail veteran, he worked for Sokol Furniture in Prichard. That business closed in 1970, and Sawyer opened Sawyer Furniture, which now has five locations, the same year.

"You knew when you walked in that store it wasn't just about furniture," said longtime friend Spencer Adams in the report. "He made every customer feel like they were his best friend, and that was a rare trait."

"He was committed there because his customers were committed to him," said son Wendell "Dell" Sawyer Jr. "He always treated people like he wanted to be treated."

Sawyer is survived by his wife, two sons, and a daughter.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at First Baptist North Mobile in Saraland. Interment will be in Mobile Memorial Gardens.

Memorials may be made to the Lymphoma & Leukemia Society Donor Services, P.O. Box 4072 Pittsfield, Mass. 01202; or to Luke 4:18 Church Building Fund.