Lawrence William Sage

Lawrence William Sage, age 85, passed away on Friday, March 30, 2012 at his home in Bozeman. Larry (“Bill” or “LW”) was born on July 12, 1926 in Poplar, the youngest child of Howard and Beulah (Avery) Sage. He graduated from Poplar High School in 1944, enlisting in the Army on his graduation day, and eventually serving in Japan until WWII ended. In the meantime, he married his high school sweetheart, Ona Vee Knief on September 12, 1946. They had six children whom they raised in Poplar. Larry spent his life farming and working for Murphy Oil. Larry was preceded in death by his wife, Ona Vee, his brother Kenny and a son-in-law, Vince Frank. He is survived by his sister, Marion Stuart and six children: Larry (Lynn) Sage of Bozeman; Tom (June) Sage of La Canada, California; Susan (Jeff) Kaufman of Bozeman; Marcia Frank of Paul, Idaho; Bill (Terri) Sage of Big Spring, Texas; and Peggy (Kenny) Norgaard of Poplar, Montana. He is also survived by 21 grandchildren, 36 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild. Our Dad was well-known for his sense of humor and he also set the standard of excellence high for his children. He was determined all of his children would attend college, even if that meant he had to scrub floors to make it happen. He was a great story teller and loved History. He was known in Poplar as the local Historian. He read the entire Encyclopedia World Book set through twice. Larry also loved music, especially the Big Band sounds from the 40s. He was often found singing and whistling songs and little ditties. He enjoyed playing cribbage and taught his kids and several grandkids to play the game. He also enjoyed crosswords and loved to play golf. Larry loved watching old time Westerns and AMC Classic movies. He also had a sweet tooth and especially enjoyed pies and black licorice. We all took such great pride in being one of the Sage kids – his kids. Words cannot express the love we have for him and the gratitude we feel for the upbringing he gave us. In lieu of flowers, the family requests any donations be sent to the First Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 155, Poplar, MT 52955. A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00am on Saturday, April 21, 2012 at Dahl Funeral Chapel. Cremation has taken place.