Kenneth Charles Sawyer,, MD Jr.

Kenneth was born on Aug. 1, 1929 in Windsor, Colorado to Elizabeth and Kenneth Sawyer. He was a life-long resident of the Capital Hill neighborhood in Denver. Like many youth of his era, Ken held numerous jobs during his childhood and adolescence, and he often shared memorable stories about delivering mail and the daily newspaper, selling sodas at offices near the hospital, moving cars at the Penn Garage, and working at the produce terminal. Ken attended Graland Country Day and was a graduate of East High School. Ken attended both the University of Colorado, Boulder and the University of Denver and he graduated from the University of Colorado Medical School. For over 45 years, Ken practiced internal medicine at Presbyterian Hospital where his brother and father also practiced. Early in his medical career, Ken was a pioneer in the development of the artificial kidney. He chose internal medicine over further work on the artificial kidney in the sole belief that his calling was to take care of people on a one-on-one basis. Patients appreciated his devotion to their care, especially his empathic demeanor, diagnostic acumen, and honest evaluations. Ken also cared deeply about educating the next generation of physicians and took a special interest in supporting interns and residents as they completed training. Ken often commented that he had two great wives during his life. During residency in medical school, he married Jane Grant and had two children, Chuck and Julia. In 1970, he married Sarah Price. Both Ken and Sarah enjoyed skiing and tennis, but golf, above all, was their favorite. They enjoyed traveling, especially when it was combined with opportunities to golf, and over the years, Ireland, Scotland and Hawaii became their favorite destinations. Their enthusiasm for golf lives on in their son Chuck and grandson Ken. Ken's passion for golf was illustrated by his ability to remember every hole of every course that he ever played. Ken also enjoyed gardening, and thanks to lessons learned from his mother, he could nurture perfect roses even under tough conditions. For many years, Ken was a regular visitor to South Park where he would fly-fish near the headwaters of the South Platt River. Visitors to the Sawyer home would often be treated with a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park and a drive via Trial Ridge Road to ""the top of the world,"" as he liked to say. Ken served as President of the Denver Country Club and he was a member of the Denver Athletic Club and Saint John's Episcopal Cathedral. He truly enjoyed meeting people and valued everyone he met. Grateful to have shared his life are his siblings Robert Sawyer and Patricia Teets, his children Chuck and Mary Sawyer and Julia Sawyer, his grandchildren Emily and David Bermingham, Ken Sawyer, IV, Nathaniel, Elena and Sophia Doyno, as well as his beloved nephews and nieces. A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, February 15, 11am at Saint John's Episcopal Cathedral, 1350 Washington St., Denver, CO 80203. Interment will immediately follow at All Souls Walk. The family would like to thank the staffs at Park Place and Denver Hospice for their care and support. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to The Denver Hospice, 501 South Cherry St., Suite 700, Denver, CO 80246.