Staff
Submitted by the family
Margaret Jane Berthold, a former resident of Coronado, died peacefully in her home in Hamden, CT in April of 2023 at the age of 83. Margaret “Peggy” was born in 1939 to Herbert Charles “Pete” Berthold and Ruth Virginia Goode Berthold in Wheaton, IL. She married her college sweetheart, Willits Herbert Sawyer, III, (SEAL Team One) in San Francisco in 1962 at Grace Cathedral and they had two sons together during their marriage.
After graduating with a Phi Beta Kappa Key from Miami University in Oxford, OH in 1961, she became a distinguished English teacher at Coronado High School in Coronado, CA in 1962. Peggy then received her master’s degree in English from San Diego State University in 1968, graduating Summa Cum Laude. She moved to New Haven, CT in 1971 and graduated from The University of Connecticut’s School of Law with high honors in 1978.
After working for two law firms, she established a private practice in family law in 1982 in New Haven, CT. Peggy became one of the top lawyers in Connecticut in her field. She served on the board of the Adolescent & Family Counseling Center.
Peggy travelled extensively, both domestically and internationally. She was intent on exploring new places and savoring new experiences. She enjoyed the theatre and the arts. She served on the board of The Elm Shakespeare Company. Peggy was an avid dancer, swimmer, and gardener. She loved her walks with the many dogs in her life. She bred, trained, and showed German Shepherds, including a champion stud named Huckleberry during her years living in Coronado.
She is survived by her brother, Dr. Charles Ernest Whitby Berthold; her eldest son, Edward “Ted” Case Sawyer, II, a Coronado native and current resident of Coronado; and her grandchildren, Benjamin Prescott Sawyer and Lillian Grace Sawyer; and her niece and nephews, Debra Smith, Mark Giblin, and Michael Giblin.
There will be a memorial service at Trinity on the Green in New Haven, CT on May 3, 2025, at 4 P.M, in remembrance of her and her youngest son, Gregory Berthold Sawyer, who passed in January of 2025 at the age of 53.
If you wish to make a charitable donation in memory of Peggy, please consider the Sarah T. Crosby Conservatory, C/O Edgerton Park Conservancy, P.O. Box 6163, Hamden, CT 06517, or online at www.edgertonpark.org.park.org. You may contact the family through the Sisk Brothers Funeral Home, www.siskbrothers.com.
Submitted by the family
