Political Activist, Philanthropist. She was a cowgirl and rancher, as well as Democratic political activist, and philanthropist. She had attended school in Brownfield, Texas and married in 1916 before moving to New Mexico. Dessie Forrest Lewis Sawyer and her husband, Uyless Devoe Sawyer, purchased a ranch in New Mexico in 1928, and it was there she learned her real cowgirl skills. She could ride a horse where most people could not. When oil was discovered on the land in the 1940s, the Sawyer family became very wealthy. She turned her attention to public service and charitable organizations in the community and large groups like the March of Dimes. Her time and money prepared her for a political career. She became the Democratic Party's National Committeewoman from 1948 to 1974, and became a close political ally and friend of President Harry S. Truman. She was one of the few people who accompanied John F. Kennedy to New Mexico in 1960, and was one of the few people who escorted nominee Hubert H. Humphrey to the stage for his victory speech in 1968. President Gerald Ford, was also a personal friend. She was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 1981, the Democratic Hall of Fame in 1989, and a New Mexico Historic Women's Mile Marker was erected in her honor by the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division in 2008.
Political Activist, Philanthropist. She was a cowgirl and rancher, as well as Democratic political activist, and philanthropist. She had attended school in Brownfield, Texas and married in 1916 before moving to New Mexico. Dessie Forrest Lewis Sawyer and her husband, Uyless Devoe Sawyer, purchased a ranch in New Mexico in 1928, and it was there she learned her real cowgirl skills. She could ride a horse where most people could not. When oil was discovered on the land in the 1940s, the Sawyer family became very wealthy. She turned her attention to public service and charitable organizations in the community and large groups like the March of Dimes. Her time and money prepared her for a political career. She became the Democratic Party's National Committeewoman from 1948 to 1974, and became a close political ally and friend of President Harry S. Truman. She was one of the few people who accompanied John F. Kennedy to New Mexico in 1960, and was one of the few people who escorted nominee Hubert H. Humphrey to the stage for his victory speech in 1968. President Gerald Ford, was also a personal friend. She was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 1981, the Democratic Hall of Fame in 1989, and a New Mexico Historic Women's Mile Marker was erected in her honor by the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division in 2008.
Bio by: Debbie Gibbons
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