Rodney Lee Sayer was born July 20, 1946 in Great Falls Montana to Mabel Margaret (Lucas) and Rupert C. Sayer. He attended Roosevelt Elementary, East Junior High, and graduated from Great Falls High School in 1965. In 1975 he graduated from the College of Great Falls with a BA in Sociology.
In 1966, he was drafted into the US Army and served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. Soon after his return from Vietnam, he met and married Lynn (Larsen) Horning and they were married for 34 years, divorcing in 2004. In 1970, Rod was hired as a Police Officer for the Great Falls Police Force. His first assignment involved walking the “beat” in downtown Great Falls, which included many infamous bars. It was with great pride that he was able to become a trusted officer with the downtown crowd as he treated everyone with kindness and respect. In 1994, Rod retired as Captain of the GFPD.
In 1994, Rod and Lynn moved to Kennewick, Washington and he became a Deputy for the US Marshalls Office. In 2011 Rod returned to the town he served, protected and loved – Great Falls, Montana. Upon his return home, he met Elaine Cope, who was by his side until his passing.
Rod was an avid fisherman, decades before it was cool. He spent countless hours fishing at Holter Lake, and fly fishing the Missouri River near Craig, Montana, using the famous Woolly Worm flies, tied by his father. He was interested in military history, enjoyed long drives on nice days in his convertible, playing cards, and telling stories of his times on the police force with humor and heart.
To read the complete obituary and share condolences, visit the Croxford Funeral Home website.
The Great Falls Police Department shared some photos and memories of Sayer on Facebook, including this:
- One of Sayer's first assignments with GFPD was performing an old fashioned walking beat downtown. Sayer was the Captain of our Patrol Bureau when Dave Bowen (current Chief of Police), was sworn in as a rookie officer. Bowen fondly recalls lifting weights in the officers' workout room, alongside Sayer. He said Sayer loved to tell stories of his time on the force and told Bowen about a time he was working overtime providing security at the Montana State Fair. Seems Sayer had to get in the middle of a scuffle between a couple fair goers and ended up getting hit over the head with a beer bottle but...he got the bad guy into custody.
