The Napavine City Council convened on Tuesday, July 22, to hold its second regular council meeting of the month. While it was a short meeting as the council had no new or old business to discuss on the meeting’s agenda, both councilors and Napavine Mayor Shawn O’Neill took time to honor the late John Sayers.
Sayers, 71, died July 21 at his home. Funeral arrangements are under the care of Cattermole Funeral Home.
“I’m not going to get too much into this because I had a hard time last night even putting together a post for this. We lost John two nights ago,” O’Neill said.
He added he, along with others on the council, were all inspired to serve on the council by Sayers who himself served as both a councilor and mayor for the City of Napavine for a quarter of a century.
O’Neill also proposed talking with city staff to come up with a way to officially honor Sayers at an upcoming meeting. The council, along with all those in attendance, also held a minute of silence in Sayers’ honor.
On his personal Facebook page, O’Neill posted a heartfelt message:
“I want to share a few comments about this man right here. John Sayers served the citizens of Napavine for 25 years. He also protected the most vulnerable, including children in his state service. He led with kindness and patience. He was a great resource for me as a city councilman and laid his trust in me when I served as mayor pro tem. He supported my run for mayor and always picked up the phone when I called. He taught me the art of slowing down and not being so fast to react to things I felt strongly for or against. He’d say, ‘Shawn, procrastinate. You’ll be surprised how many problems solve themselves in a couple days.’ It would drive me nuts but he was right. We’ve had several heated conversations, and I was usually the only one heated. This man served his country as a Marine, served his state as a social worker, lent himself to city politics (and all the bullsh-t that goes along with that), and is a father and grandfather! Most importantly to me anyway, he was a great friend. Fly high and rest easy John!”
Sayers was elected to the Napavine Planning Commission in 1995 and later to the Napavine City Council where he spent 16 years before becoming the mayor in 2012.
