Mary Margaret Sage

Mary Margaret Sage

1924 — 2019

Mary Margaret Sage died at her home in Shalimar, Fla., on July 12, 2019, surrounded by three generations of her family and those who loved her dearly. She was 95.  Mary Margaret was born June 7, 1924, in Colfax, Iowa. Her parents, John and Emma Pratt, had four sons, William, John Edward, Joseph and Thomas, and two daughters, Alice and Mary Margaret who was the youngest in the family.  Mary Margaret is preceded in death by her parents; her sister and brothers; her husband, Frank, who died in 1978; one son-in-law, Bob Mann; and one close sister-in-law, Kathleen Luther.  After graduating high school, Mary Margaret taught in a one-room rural schoolhouse. She began dating Frank Sage in high school, and they were married in a hurry before Frank was shipped off to serve in World War II. After Frank returned home, the couple lived and worked on a farm until he rejoined the U.S. Air Force.  While traveling around the country with the military, Mary Margaret and Frank had four children. In 1967, they moved to Fort Walton Beach, Fla., where Frank eventually retired from the military.  Mary Margaret was active as a military spouse, a Girl Scout leader and then a band parent at Choctawhatchee High School. She was a member of P.E.O., a philanthropic women’s educational organization, for over 50 years, and a member of Shalimar United Methodist Church, also for over 50 years.  When he retired from the Air Force, Frank taught geography at Pryor Middle School, and Mary Margaret volunteered to tutor children after school. After Frank passed, Mary Margaret served as an aide for children with special needs and in the library at Mary Esther and Wright elementary schools.  She loved to play golf, refinish antique furniture, sew and do all kinds of crafts. She made a lot of her children’s clothes and sewed wedding dresses and maternity tops once they were grown. She was an avid baker, famous for her pecan rolls and cream puffs.  Mary Margaret spent a lot of time traveling around the country to visit her grandchildren. In the summertime, grandkids could visit Grandma on their own. Days were spent swimming in the pool and checking the pool’s thermometer to see if it was warm enough for Grandma to get in. (It had to be 88 degrees.)  Mary Margaret became MM to her great-grandchildren. She moved to Shalimar, Fla., in 2004 and pool days became bayou days, the diving board replaced with boating and floating around the dock.  Mary Margaret is survived by an enormous family including her children: Suzanne Mann, Larry 'Ron’ Sage and wife Judi, Sally Hills and husband Ricky, and Nancy Reinlie; her grandchildren: Julieanne Stringfellow and husband Brian, Chris Sage and wife Stephanie, Brad Sage, Tim Sage and wife Kiley, Lauren Edwards and husband David, Preston Mann and wife Monique, Colleen Hildebrandt and husband Ryan, John Reinlie and wife Kimberly, Maggie Juengst and Adam Juengst; and close family friend Heather Lamb and her two children Savannah and Charlotte. She has 13 great-grandchildren: Chambers, Caitlyn and Cannon Stringfellow; Sterling Mann; Landon and Dylan Sage; Stryker Sage; Mara Edwards; Miles, Logan and Thea Hildebrandt; Keegan Younkin-Hicks and Rudaline Reinlie.  She is missed greatly.  The family would like to thank Betty Ann Trudeau for her loving care of Mary Margaret for the last few years of her life.  A celebration of life will be held at Two Trees Restaurant at Fort Walton Beach Golf Club on Aug. 10 from 3 to 5 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to P.E.O. Checks, which are tax-deductible, should be made to P.E.O. Foundation and mailed to 3700 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA. 50312. Specify the gift is for the P.E.O. Educational Loan Fund in honor of Mary Margaret Sage from Chapter FK, Florida.

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