M. Raye (Smith) Sawyer, 90, formerly of Mattapoisett and Rochester, passed away Saturday December 28, 2024 at The Cottages of Dartmouth Villages. She was the wife of the late Walter Judd Sawyer.
Born in Middleborough, she was the daughter of the late Walter and Katherine (Ferguson) Smith. A graduate of the Katharine Gibbs School, she worked as a secretary in Boston for a time, before becoming a full-time Mom after her marriage. She worked at the polls as an election worker for the Town of Mattapoisett for years and also substituted at the library at Old Rochester Regional High School when needed.
Raye was a legendary baker of cookies and treats for all occasions, including scores of individually wrapped and customized ginger-bread men at Christmas for relatives, friends and neighbors. She was well-known as the maker of “crunchy noodle beef bake” that was always popular at family gatherings. She was also a prodigious knitter, sewer, quilter and rug braider.
She was predeceased by her husband Walter and her eldest son, Nathaniel Judd Sawyer.
She is survived by her son, Benjamin Alden Sawyer and his wife, Ellen Terry; her grandsons, Patrick Judd Sawyer, Samuel Alden Sawyer, and Robert Maxwell Hammerton; and her daughter-in-law, Catherine (O’Malley) Sawyer (Nat’s widow) and her husband, Scott Amorin.
A celebration of her life will be held in the Spring. Arrangements are by the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Mattapoisett. For online condolence book, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.
