Posted by Terry Powers on January 15, 2023:

JOHN M. SAYLER 1949 Cullum No. 17311-1949 | December 30, 2014 | Died in Savannah, GA Interred in Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, GA John Milton 'Jack' Sayler died on December 30, 2014 at the age of 88. He was the son of the late General Henry Benton Sayler and his wife Jessie Dixon Sayler. Jack Sayler was born in Savannah, GA on January 28, 1926 and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1949. He was commissioned in the Artillery and later transferred to the Air Force after a tour of duty in the Korean War. He was transferred to the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force and later assigned as a White House Military Aide under Presidents Truman and Eisenhower. In 1955 he left the military to join the worldwide operations of the late Barney Diamond and Diamond Construction Company. In that capacity he did work in the United States as well as in Europe, Scandinavia, the Middle East, South America and the Bahamas. In 1963 he left Diamond and formed Sayler Marine Construction Company, which eventually had operations in Baltimore, MD; Miami, FL; Puerto Rico; New Orleans, LA; and Brownsville, TX. In 1981 he retired and sold all of his companies to Raymond International of Houston, TX. Locally, Sayler Marine constructed the Thunderbolt Bridge, many Georgia Port facilities, and numerous other commercial docks and marine facilities. It also repaired the Talmadge Bridge after it was struck by a military cargo ship. Jack was instrumental in bringing Intermarine (the minesweeper builders) to Savannah. TIC is the former Sayler Marine Construction Company. Jack was a former member of the Savannah Downtown Rotary Club, for which he served as director. He was past president of the Propeller Club and named Maritime Person of the Year in 1988. In 1972 he was presented with the Oglethorpe Trophy-the highest community service award-and the William Washington Gordon Award for outstanding contributions to the business, commercial and industrial progress of the community. In 1974 he was awarded the Albert Gallatin Award for Georgia and the Southeast as the outstanding business and community Leader. He was also awarded the Savannah Chamber of Commerce Certificate for outstanding service to the community. He was the former director of Atlantic Bank & Trust Company and served the Savannah Port as Honorary Consul of Brazil and the Dominican Republic. In 1977 the president of Brazil awarded him the Order of the Rio Bronco for his many contributions to Brazil. Jack was a member of St. John's Episcopal Church, the Oglethorpe Club, the Savannah Yacht Club, the Cotillion Club, the Century Club, the Society of Colonial Wars and the Army Navy Club of Washington, DC. He was also a past member of the Savannah Golf Club, the Boca Grande Club, Boca Grande, FL; The Useppa Island Club, Useppa, FL; and the Chevy Chase Club, Chevy Chase, MD. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Elizabeth Kennedy Miller Sayler; a son, John Milton Sayler Jr., and his wife, Linda Mottice Sayler, of Savannah, GA; a daughter, Elizabeth Sayler Youles and her husband Charles Richard Youles, of Alexandria, VA; and four grandchildren: Kathleen Hagood Sayler of New York City, John Milton Sayler III, Samuel McDowell Sayler of Savannah, GA and Elizabeth Shelby Youles of Alexandria, VA. He is also survived by his brother, Henry Benton Sayler Jr., and his wife, Wyline Chapman Sayler, of St. Petersburg, FL; a sister, Dale Sayler Morgan of Savannah, GA; one niece, six nephews and a number of great nieces and nephews.

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