Richard “Dick” Bradstreet Sayford, 83, of Indian River Shores, passed away on Nov. 30, 2014, at VNA Hospice House in Vero Beach.
He is survived by his his wife Nancy McKinney Sayford; sister Elizabeth Jacobsen; stepchildren Gary Flemmons and Janet Jenkins; grandchildren Jason Flemmons, Jeremy Flemmons, Stephanie Flemmons, Collin McMullen and Courtland McMullen; nephew Bruce Jacobsen and niece Martha Durkin; and seven great grandchildren.
Born in Vineland, N.J., the son of the late Howard Augustus and Lillian Dunn Sayford, he grew up in Bloomfield, N.J. Sayford earned a BA from the College of William and Mary and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Shortly after spending 12 years with IBM, including as Director of Communications Marketing and head of IBM’s marketing operations in St. Louis, Sayford became President of Amdahl International, Ltd. and Corporate Vice President of Amdahl Corporation based in Sunnyvale, Calif.
He subsequently became a founding investor of MCI Communications Corporation and served as a member of MCI’s Board of Directors for 18 years. He held more than a dozen other board seats, such as with VISX, Inc. and was Chairman of the Board of HCA-HealthONE in Denver.
Also as a business consultant in the high-tech industry in Silicon Valley, Sayford’s greatest joy was assisting start-up companies and young entrepreneurs to become established and successful in their field.
Sayford loved to travel with his wife (and co-pilot) of 44 years, Nancy, on their private plane and he enjoyed living in different locations in the U.S. and abroad, such as Zurich, Switzerland; Munich, Germany; Paris, France; Rochester, N.Y.; San Francisco, Calif.; North Palm Beach, Fla.; White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.; Denver, Colo.; and ultimately in John’s Island in Indian River Shores.
He also enjoyed golfing and tennis. Sayford is survived by his wife Nancy McKinney Sayford; sister Elizabeth Jacobsen; stepchildren Gary Flemmons and Janet Jenkins; grandchildren Jason Flemmons, Jeremy Flemmons, Stephanie Flemmons, Collin McMullen and Courtland McMullen; nephew Bruce Jacobsen and niece Martha Durkin; and seven great-grandchildren.
A Memorial Service will be held at Community Church on Monday, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m. with a reception to follow at John’s Island Club. In lieu of flowers, donations to Community Church, 1901 23rd St, Vero Beach, FL 32960 or the Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice Foundation, 1110 35th Lane, Vero Beach, FL 32960 would be appreciated.
Arrangements are under the direction of Strunk Funeral Home, Vero Beach. A guestbook is available at www.strunkfuneralhome.com.