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 It is with great regret
and sorrow that I must notify you of the death of our Classmate, Don Sawtelle,
on 14 April 2021, in Braselton, GA., following a long illness.
Don is survived by his wife, Jo; their daughter, Stacy Adams and her husband,
David; their son, Donald III; and their grandchildren, Tripp Adams, Ally Faith
Adams, Jaylee Skains and her husband, Christian, Emily Sawtelle, and Donald
Sawtelle IV.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 2 PM on 22 April at Perimeter Church, 9500
Medlock Bridge Road, Johns Creek, GA 30097.
Burial will be at 2 PM on 23 April at Park Hill Cemetery, 4161 Macon Road,
Columbus, GA 31907
Condolences may be sent to Jo at 6062 Allee Way, Braselton, GA 30517-6031.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Don’s memory may be sent to Perimeter Church,
9500 Medlock Bridge Road, Johns Creek, GA 30097.
Remembrances:
Class Memorial Pages\B-1 Don Sawtelle.pdf
Obituaries:
Assembly/Taps Memorial Article:
DONALD W. SAWTELLE JR. 1961
Cullum No. 23791-1961 | April
14, 2021 | Died in Braselton,
GA
Cremated. Ashes scattered.
Donald William “Don” Sawtelle Jr. was born July 7, 1937 to Colonel Donald W.
Sawtelle, USMA Class of 1918 November, and Vivian T. Sawtelle at Fort Riley,
KS. The family accompanied his dad to the Philippines in 1939 and was sent
home on the last ship out of the country as World War II began. He grew up
in Corpus Christi, TX and lived there until his dad, who fought and survived
the Bataan Death March, was freed from captivity after three years. His dad
returned to recuperate for three years in the U.S. Army Hospital in
Phoenixville, PA.
Determined to follow in his father’s footsteps, Don attended prep school in
Washington, DC and entered West Point on July 2, 1957. His father mustered
the strength to live until Don graduated.
Don’s cadet days were filled with corps squad squash and tennis, close
relationships with dear friends, and a running gun battle with the academic
departments, which he ultimately won. The Class of 1961 marched in President
John Kennedy’s Inaugural Parade, but Don was the only member of the class
who, two years later, also served in JFK’s funeral ceremonies as commander
of the death watch.
Although neither knew it at the time, the lives of Don and Jo Claridy
changed forever on the Class of 1961’s First-Class trip. They met on a blind
date at Fort Benning, GA, and when Don returned to the Infantry School in
1961 for the basic course, he contacted Jo at Agnes Scott College. Their
romance grew, and they were engaged by Christmas but waited impatiently to
be married until Don returned from Korea and joined “The Old Guard” (3rd
U.S. Infantry Regiment). Don was OIC of the Tomb Guards and was selected to
take the Honor Guard Company to Pall Mall, TN for the funeral of Medal of
Honor recipient Sergeant Alvin York. Sergeant York was a folk hero to the
people in the hills of Tennessee. They lined the streets and treated Don
with equal respect as he led the military funeral honors.
A highlight of Don’s distinguished military career was his serving as
company commander, A Company, 2-28th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry
Division, Vietnam. Don received multiple awards for valor and was one of the
main characters of the book June 17, 1967 Battle of Xon Bo II by David
Hearne. Don’s morale was sustained during his Vietnam tour by the knowledge
that his infant daughter Stacy, born shortly after his arrival in country,
awaited his return.
Don’s next assignment was to secure a master’s degree at Purdue University
in preparation for joining the Department of Military Psychology and
Leadership at USMA.
While at West Point, Don and Jo welcomed their second child, Trey. Don was
very proud and very close to his children and grandchildren; he was a star
in their eyes as well.
Because of his previous performance and expertise, Don was delayed from a
command assignment at Fort Benning to help plan the inauguration of
President Jimmy Carter. Don had the unique experience of walking down
Pennsylvania Avenue with the new president.
Don was consistently promoted below the zone of consideration, had been
selected to attend the Army War College and seemed destined for advanced
promotion. While assigned as IG, Recruiting Command, however, he and Jo
decided to retire from active duty and return to Columbus, GA.
Don’s experiences in command, ODCSP, and MDW prepared him for his second
career as personnel director of Swift Textiles in Columbus. Don implemented
a plan for continuing education for employees and served as an officer in
the Columbus Georgia Business Association. He was very proud of his company,
took good care of his employees, and “praised all people who wore denim.”
The company loved Don for his work ethic, good humor, and dedication to
helping all succeed and invited him to move to corporate headquarters in
Atlanta. He served as senior vice president for marketing services and then
for all human resources until retiring in 1998.
Again, Don could stand retirement for only a short time and pursued
employment with Perimeter Church, where he and Jo had become active. The
church was seeking to add an HR director. Five minutes into Don’s interview,
Pastor Gordon Moore said, “You’re the one.” This began Don’s third highly
successful career, which became the summation of his life. As the church
grew Don expanded their HR services, including the difficult task of adding
medical coverage for their growing staff. More importantly he helped people
through counseling, job training, achieving citizenship, leading, and
mentoring. Don became an elder in the church and led men’s retreats. When
Don became ill, he received over 20 letters from church staff attesting to
his caring professionalism. Anyone would be proud to have their staff use
such words and phrases as “excellence, professionalism, faithfulness,
kindness, Christ-likeness, caring, developed people, helping, smiling,
laughter, love of country, family and the Lord, humility, compassion, make
people feel important, I know God used you, and I admire everything you and
Jo stand for.” These and many more words of praise were shared by Pastor
Moore at Don’s crowded funeral service.
At the top of Don’s list was always care for his family: granddaughters Ally
Faith, ER nurse; Jaylee, Auburn graduate; and Emily, Auburn student;
grandsons Tripp, UGA graduate and staffer on Capitol Hill, and Donald
William Sawtelle IV, high school senior who has opened an admission file at
West Point. Don is enormously proud of them all.
Don was well known for his sense of humor and his love of family, as well as
a practicing and witnessing Christian who has helped more people than anyone
will ever know. There is no doubt that he received a “well done thou good
and faithful servant” when he joined his Savior.
— Jo and
classmates
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