John "Gunny" Franklin Sayers, 69, of Red Lake, died Saturday, March 29, 2008, in Red Lake.
The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the St. Mary's Mission Catholic Church in Red Lake with the Rev. Patrick Sullivan officiating. A wake began at noon Monday at the Red Lake Center and will continue until the time of the service. Burial will be in the St. Mary's Mission Catholic Church Cemetery in Red Lake. The Cease Family Funeral Home of Bemidji assisted the family with arrangements.
Pallbearers will be Gerald May, Jerome Strong, Floyd "Buck" Jourdain, Eugene Sayers, Henry Donnell and Rusty Donnell. Alternates are Paul Beaulieu, Gordon Thompson Sr. and Sean Saice.
Honorary pallbearers will be his nephews and nieces.
He was born Jan. 8, 1939, to Paul and Agnes (Lussier) Sayers in Red Lake. He attended school at St. Mary's Mission and Red Lake High School. He worked construction in Maryland. He returned home and was a carpenter for Red Lake Builders for a number of years. He worked security for the Red Lake Casino and then as a custodian for the Palace Casino in Cass Lake. He loved hunting, ice and pole fishing and spending time with his nieces, nephews, grandsons and family.
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He is survived by his sons, Harold (Shari) Brun of Red Lake and Keenan (Laurie) Sayers of Red Lake; daughter, Toni Pemberton of Cass Lake; 11 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; sisters, Margaret Sayers of Red Lake and Edna Staples of Cass Lake; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Mildred Beaulieu, Edith Walker, Angie Haga, Alberta Sayers, Joanne Moore and Paulette Trouten; brothers, Allen, Bill and Leon Sayers; two grandchildren and two nephews.
