Reiko Sage

With deep sadness, we announce the passing of Reiko Sage, a loving wife, devoted mother, and friend to all whose lives she touched on February 13, 2024. Reiko passed peacefully at home with her husband and three children at her bedside in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She was in her 86th year.

Reiko is survived by her husband, Hugh Sage Sr.; her three children, Hugh Jr. (Cindy), Debbie (Stephen Nagy), and Lois (Bob Hammill); brothers Takashi and Shun; sisters Yoko, Misako, Sachiko, and Keiko; grandchildren, Daniel, Jennifer, Timothy, and Alicia, as well as her five great-grandchildren.

Reiko was born in Taiwan in 1938 and sometime after that, her family returned to Japan. Reiko witnessed many tremendous changes to her world, from WW2 and beyond. In Japan, Reiko was an excellent student and a skilled athlete. Reiko met her loving husband, Hugh while teaching and babysitting children for Officers at the Air Force Base. On those days at the base, when her work was done, she sat on a bench at the bus stop to get a ride back to her home. On many of those same days, her future husband, a long and lean young airman walked by and noticed how beautiful she was. Thankfully, he mustered up the courage to speak with her. Reiko and Hugh were married on November 12, 1957. They welcomed their firstborn child, Hugh Jr. in 1958. Shortly after the birth, Hugh Sr. was sent to Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. Reiko stayed with the baby until they were able to board the ship USS General J.C. Breckinridge, for the long ride to San Francisco.

Reiko lived a full life as a wonderful mother and wife and a compassionate and caring friend. Reiko saw the beauty in everyday moments. She was a homemaker and had many amazing work experiences, from setting up destination weddings in Hawaii for young Japanese couples who wanted a “Blue Hawaii” wedding, as well as being a celebrated Hair Stylist and Cosmetologist receiving awards for Stylist of the Year. Reiko was highly skilled in knitting and crocheting, and she shared all those lovely works with her family and friends. She was an accomplished bowler, a fine golfer, a skillful tennis player, and a dedicated gardener. Most of all, Reiko loved her family and instilled strong values, compassion, and kind-heartedness, in her children that have served them well. She will be dearly missed and forever in our hearts.

Funeral Service will be held Monday, February 26, 2024 at 11:00AM at Memorial Gardens Cemetery & Funeral Home, 3825 Airport Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80910.

Burial will be at 1:00PM at Pikes Peak National Cemetery, 10545 Drennen Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80925.

“You never said I’m leaving, you never said goodbye. You were gone before we knew it, and only God knew why. A million times we needed you, a million times we cried. If love alone could have saved you, you never would have died. In life we loved you dearly, in death we love you still. In our hearts, you hold a place that no one could ever fill. It broke our hearts to lose you, but you didn’t go alone. For part of us went with you, the day God took you home.” -Author Unknown.