Kellie Jean

Sawyers

Kellie Jean (Rex) Sawyers of Tuttle, Oklahoma was born on March 26, 1961, to Claude and Brenda (Ewing) Rex, and was the oldest of five children. Kellie went home to be with her Lord and Savior on December 24, 2019, at the age of 58.

She graduated from U.S. Grant High School in 1979. She started her career with the Oklahoma City Fire Department as a Dispatcher on October 22, 1982. She was married to Timmy Lee of Moore, OK from 1991 until 2008, gained a daughter, Carmen, and had two more daughters, Randie and Courtney in 1991 and 1995, respectively. In May of 1995, she obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources Management from Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma. Over the course of her nearly 35-year career, she earned many titles and distinctions, including First Female Chief, First Female Deputy Chief and First Female Fire Marshal for the Oklahoma City Fire Department. She earned the Executive Fire Officer distinction from the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland in December 2006; and was awarded the Oklahoma City Fire Department's Meritorious Service Award in January 2005. On October 23rd, 2010, Kellie married Larry Sawyers from Fayetteville, Tennessee and gained two sons, Stephen and Robert. She retired from the Oklahoma City Fire Department as Deputy Chief and Fire Marshal on April 1st, 2017, after 34 years, five months and nine days of service to the Oklahoma City community.

Kellie is preceded in death by both her paternal and maternal grandparents. She is survived by her husband, Larry Sawyers, of the home; her children: Randie and Casey Bass of Oklahoma City, Courtney and Charlie Brown of Ft. Irwin, California; Jessica and Zac Schweitzer of El Reno, Oklahoma, Robert and Carmen Sawyers of Oklahoma City, Stephen and Roxie Sawyers of Wichita, Kansas, and her daughters by choice: Erin Dawson of Grove, Oklahoma, Ashley Walker of Mustang, Oklahoma, and Alyssa Robertson of Tuttle, Oklahoma. Kellie is also survived by her parents, Claude and Brenda Rex of Oklahoma City; her four siblings and their families, Linda and Greg Knight of Rockwall, Texas, Leslie and William Stockel of Edmond, Oklahoma, Katherine and Jim Pendergraft of Oklahoma City, and Richard and Marcy Rex of Newcastle, Oklahoma. Kellie is also survived by three grandsons, five granddaughters, many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, numerous friends, and her nationwide Fire Service family.

Services will be held at Crossroads Church on Monday, December 30th, 2019 at 10 a.m. Charitable donations can be made in Kellie's name to the Oklahoma Fallen & Living Firefighters Memorial.