Mrs. A.B. Sawyer, Jr, who was instrumental in the establishment and development of nursery school programs in Kentucky and throughout the South, died Thursday, April 8, 1965 at Norton Memorial Infirmary. She was 75.

In 1930, she founded the Country Nursery School for children 3 to 5 years old on a 20-acre site off Cannons Lane. She operated the school until 1956.

She was the former Agnes Nellie Porter, a native of Illinois and a graduate of the University of Illinois, who moved to Louisville, Kentucky following her marriage. The Sawyers lived at 4401 Jonlynn Court. She was the daughter of John B. and Margaret B. (Pfeffer) Porter. She married Albert Butler Sawyer, Jr. in Richland County Illinois in 1913.

The education of pre-school-age children was a subject in which Mrs. Sawyer became interested early in life. She took a special course in the subject at Vassar College in preparation for a career in which she became a recognized leader.

During the summer of 1935, she conducted demonstrations and taught classes at the University of Louisville for unemployed teachers. The course in education of younger children was part of the government’s WPA program. Teachers from throughout the state attended, returning later to their home communities to conduct nursery schools.

From 1935 to 1940 she put on demonstrations and conducted seminars on the nursery school program throughout Kentucky, under the sponsorship of the State Department of Public Health. She also taught classes in the subject through 1960 for the University of Louisville’s adult education department. In 1949, helped organize both the Kentucky Association and the Southern Association for Children Under Six.

From 1950 to 1964 she was a member of the Board of Norton Memorial Infirmary’s psychiatric unit.

Mrs. Sawyer was a member of the Louisville Woman’s Club and Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church and was a life member of the board of the Child Guidance Clinic.

Besides her husband, survivors include three sons, A.B. Sawyer III, John Porter Sawyer and Thomas W. Sawyer; a daughter, Mrs. Charles L. Bloch; a sister, Mrs. Lawrence East, Saugatuck, Michigan and 12 grandchildren.

A memorial service held at Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church.

The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) – Friday, April 9, 1965