Juanita "Nita" Ferrell

Juanita “Nita” Alicia MacCormack Sawyer Ferrell died Monday, May 23, one day after her 94th birthday, at Bayview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in New Bern, N.C. A registered nurse, she was a longtime labor and delivery nurse at Craven County Hospital.

Following the death of her husband, Frank Ferrell, of New Bern, Nita moved to a home near her daughter, Laurie Sawyer Adams, who prepared Nita’s lunches and dinners every day until she needed fulltime nursing care.

She is survived by her sons David Sawyer (Maribel) and Paul Sawyer (Donna) of Malena, Veraguas, Panama; and Stephen Sawyer (Connie) of New Bern; daughter Laurie Sawyer Adams (Veston) of New Bern and sister, Gloria MacCormack Price, of Raleigh. She had eleven grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, and sons John and Aaron Sawyer.

She was the daughter of the late John Stewart MacCormack and Elsa Veronica Hackett MacCormack. She was born in Philadelphia, PA. Her father was in the Coast Guard, and she recalled attending seven different high schools.

She attended Tidewater Community College, where she graduated as a Registered Nurse.

Her first husband, the late George Sawyer, was in the Navy, and the family lived in a variety of places, including Virginia Beach, Va.; Newfoundland, Canada; New Jersey and Tennessee, during their marriage.