August 25, 1930 – June 20, 2023

Cynthia Elizabeth Sawyer Hart departed this life early Tuesday morning, June 20, 2023, at the age of 92. While increasingly frail, Cynthia had still been able to enjoy traveling in recent years to visit with her children and, quite recently, to attend the wedding of a granddaughter. She retained her friendly, often mischievous wit into her final days.

Cynthia was born in Los Angeles to Jean Elizabeth Robbers Sawyer (later Ryan) and Marshall W. Sawyer II. Both parents were aviation pioneers and art patrons. After a few short-term moves and the birth of her brother, Marshall W. Sawyer III, the family settled in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, where many of her neighbors were highly recognizable film-industry names. Cynthia attended The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, California, and then Mills College in Oakland, California, forming several lifelong friendships at both schools. In August of 1950, she moved to Tucson to study at the University of Arizona, where she met a wise-cracking Texan named Jerry Hart. By December of that year, they were married and, nine months and two days later, the first of their six children was born.

Cynthia’s interests were diverse, and she often pursued those interests in the form of volunteer work in Friendswood, where she lived since 1967. She devoted many hours to the Garden Club; to the Friends of the Library; and to The Shepherd’s Nook, the thrift store and outreach center run by the Women of Good Shepherd Episcopal Church. Her work with The Shepherd’s Nook was just one aspect of her long-time association with Good Shepherd Episcopal. For several decades, Cynthia was an active participant in the varied programs supporting both the operations and the objectives of the church as it grew. Not only was the church the center of her quiet but abiding faith, it was also a hub for many of her most enduring friendships. Cynthia was often a hub of sorts, herself, as one of a core of area knitters, crocheters, and needlework enthusiasts. From 1979 until 1988—after The Hen House and before Marie’s Yarn Shop—she owned and ran Creative Hands, a yarn and crafts store and a convivial meeting place for area handicrafters.

Travel and good food were other sources of great pleasure for Cynthia and for Jerry, her husband of 63 years. They were often heard gently correcting one another about such things as whether a Remoulade sauce had been served with their artichokes at Commander’s Palace that time in 1978. They had an uncanny ability to recall specific dishes at specific restaurants half a century after the meal was done. Their travels took them to Europe, the Americas, and Asia, as well as many islands of the Caribbean and the South Pacific.

Cynthia never met a baby she didn’t want to hold and coo over. This seems remarkable given that she had one or two babies of her own to cuddle for the better part of two decades. She had been studying child psychology before marrying and, with six children, had plenty of opportunities for practical application. With a family of this size, Cynthia developed certain regimens to maintain a sense of order and also to satisfy her own tendencies toward systematic routine. Tuesdays were always French Toast mornings and Wednesdays meant bologna sandwiches in all the kids’ sack lunches. In the evenings at home, Jerry had his chair and she had hers, and he was ever prompt in delivering a very dry martini to that chair at precisely six o’clock. In recent years, her afternoon ice cream took on greater importance and Cynthia was always keenly aware when 4pm was approaching. Cynthia may not have been known for her spontaneity, but that never kept her from enjoying the many unexpected pleasures that came with being “Mommo,” the witty matriarch of an ever-growing family who cared for her deeply.

Cynthia was preceded in death by her father, Marshall W. Sawyer II, and his wife, Neva Smith Sawyer; by her mother, Jean Robbers Ryan, and her mother’s husband, Joseph Ryan; by her brother, Marshall W. Sawyer III; and by her husband, Dr. John Alexander Hart, Jr., known as Jerry.

Cynthia is survived by her six children, John (Claudia), Susan (Robert), Stephen (Laurie), Jeffrey (Barbara), Christopher (Alissa), and Andrew (Kate), as well as two nieces, 16 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild. On her late husband’s side, she is survived by her sister-in-law, Carolyn Hart Draper; her brother-in-law, Dr. Raymond Hart (Helen); and six nephews and a niece.

Services will be held at 1pm on Saturday, July 1, 2023, at Friendswood’s Church of the Good Shepherd, 1207 W. Winding Way Drive, with Father Justin Briggle officiating. A reception will follow. A family celebration of Cynthia’s and Jerry’s lives will be held at La Jolla, California, later this year, when their ashes will be scattered in the cove together. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Make-A-Wish or to the charity of your choice.

The family would like to thank the good people at Sterling Oaks Assisted Living, who came to know Cynthia over the last 18 months and who embodied the full sense of the word care. Condolences may be sent to the Hart family by way of Jeter Memorial Funeral Home at www.jeterfuneralhome.com.