Lee Sawyer, DEEP chief of staff, dies

Lee Sawyer, a Middletown resident, attorney, former journalist and chief of staff of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, died Nov. 5 at age 38.

Born on Nov. 11, 1981, in Marlow, N.H., Sawyer “departed this world peacefully, but unexpectedly,” his death notice read.

“He was a beloved father, husband, brother, son, grandson, uncle, nephew, cousin, mentor, friend, and pillar of the community. He is survived by his wife, soulmate, and best friend, Samantha Claire Sawyer,” the obituary said.

The couple has three daughters, Sadie Claire, 13, Natalie Winter, 10, and Raina Stone Sawyer, 5.

Sawyer graduated from Coginchaug Regional High School in Durham 1999, and earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and public administration from Central Connecticut State University, then his graduate certificate in public relations from the same school. He earned his law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 2013.

“I strive to change systems, organizations, and lives for the better,” Sawyer’s Linkedin profile said.

“His education was as much practical as it was traditional; while pursuing his degrees and raising his family, he was also working tirelessly with organizations including (as a reporter for two years) at the Manchester Journal Inquirer and Goodwin College, and volunteering with the Jennifer Jaff Center, the Middletown Conservation Commission, and the Connecticut Invention Convention Inc.,” according to his death notice.

He worked at DEEP for six years, nearly a year and onehalf as chief of staff.

“The tragedy of his passing seems impossible to comprehend; yet we must remember — as he would want us to — that his path is simply following the natural order of things,” his obituary said.

“Lee believed in science and logic above all else, and he would want to remind us now that science has proven reliably that energy in the universe is never created, nor is energy ever destroyed. The only certain conclusion then, he would reason, is that his own energy will never be gone from the universe; it has simply transformed.”

A celebration of Sawyer’s life will be held between 3 and 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, at the Biega Funeral Home, 3 Silver St., Middletown.

A trust has been established to help Lee and his wife Samantha’s family. Contributions to the Sawyer Family Fund at Liberty Bank would be accepted in lieu of flowers.