The City of Upper Arlington and the Upper Arlington Historical Society are pleased to announce that Dr. Martin Peter Sayers, II and Marjorie Garvin Sayers are the 2025 Upper Arlington Wall of Honor inductees.

Dr. Sayers (1922-2013) was a pioneering pediatric neurosurgeon, a world-renowned and pathbreaking innovator. “Pete” grew up in the early years of Upper Arlington, which had been founded by his uncles, King and Ben Thompson, and laid out by his civil engineer father, Delbert Bancroft Sayers. He graduated from the Upper Arlington High School in 1939, where he was class vice-president and captain of the football team. In the middle of his sophomore year at The Ohio State University (OSU), the U.S. entered World War II – Pete enlisted in the U.S. Navy and completed a condensed medical school program at OSU before assuming active duty at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Roanoke, VA.

Dr. Sayers went on to establish and head The Ohio State University College of Medicine Department of Pediatric Neurological Surgery and also served as Chief of Pediatric Neurological Surgery at Columbus Children’s Hospital. Additionally, he was elected President of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons in 1961; elected President of the Neurosurgical Society of America in 1983; and served as Chair of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He is credited with the introduction of several important procedures in Neurosurgery, especially in the Pediatric field. Of note, during his internship at the Philadelphia General Hospital, he participated in the development of the surgical insertion of a “shunt” to relieve pressure on the brain for patients with hydrocephalus.

Marjorie Sayers (1921-2021) graduated from Upper Arlington High School in 1939 and from OSU with a BA in English, minoring in fine arts. She was an avid historian who founded and served as President of the Upper Arlington Historical Society. She served as Chair, editor and contributor to Upper Arlington’s first comprehensive history book, published in 1977, with a second edition published in 1988. Marjorie was a gifted painter in oils and watercolor, and a lifelong lover of classical music and opera – and was devoted to the Columbus Museum of Art and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.

Pete and Marjorie were childhood sweethearts who wed in 1943 and enjoyed 70 years of marriage, raising four children. They served as Grand Marshals of the Upper Arlington July 4th Parade, were founding members of Canterbury Village, and passionately supported the Upper Arlington Public Library System. Pete and Marjorie always advanced Upper Arlington and the community’s interests: moving the community forward as an inclusive, leading American suburb.

An induction ceremony is scheduled for 3 pm, Sunday, May 18, at the Municipal Services Center, 3600 Tremont Road.

To be considered for the Wall of Honor, a person must meet the following criteria: He or she must be deceased; must have lived in Upper Arlington for part of his/her life; and must have made a significant contribution to the city, the state and/or the nation. Honorees are recognized via permanent bronze plaques on the “Wall of Honor” located on the plaza in front of the Municipal Services Center.

For additional details about the Upper Arlington Wall of Honor, call the UA Historical Society at 614-470-2610 or click here.