Leslie Leon Gage

Leslie Leon “Les” Gage, 91, of Austin, TX, passed away peacefully on November 4, 2026. Born October 2, 1935, to Louie and Velma King Gage, Les grew up in the old Clarksville neighborhood and later on the then-far north edge of Austin in the Rosedale neighborhood just south of 45th Street. From their home there, he remembered taking his horse for shoeing at the blacksmith shop next to the firehouse at 30th and Guadalupe Streets.

Les attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he met Winnie MacIver of Dallas, TX, and went on their first date at Martin’s Kum-Bak Place (Dirty’s Hamburgers) on The Drag. Les and Winnie soon married and spent the next 71 years as inseparable loving partners. Their life together was grounded in their shared faith. Over the years they were faithful members and lay leaders at Wilshire, Covenant, Westminster, and University Presbyterian Churches until recently rejoining friends at Covenant once again.

After serving briefly in the U.S. Marine Corps in California in the years immediately following the Korean War, Les returned to Austin to work alongside his father and mother in the family retail furniture business, Gage Furniture. First opened in 1940, Les helped to grow the business along with Austin, and as many as four generations of Gages worked together at various times over the years in as many as six locations in Austin and Seguin until the business finally closed in 2017.

Les’s professional commitments were always accompanied by involvement in the wider community. He served on the Austin City Council from 1969-1971. An early environmentalist and Sierra Club member, when he left the Council, he chaired the newly formed Citizens’ Board of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality. He also was appointed to serve alongside former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson as co-chair with Hallie Burns of the committee that created what he considered his proudest achievement, aside from his family: the hike-and-bike trail around Lady Bird Lake in the heart of Austin, enjoyed by thousands every day.

Les was one of those folks himself. He ran the trail daily for decades with a rogues’ gallery of running buddies. He loved the outdoors, especially the wide open spaces of Big Bend National Park. He also hiked, kayaked, cycled, rafted whitewater from the Grand Canyon to Nepal, and, in later years, became an avid and accomplished amateur digital photographer.

Over the course of his life, there pretty much was never a time when Les wasn’t involved in efforts to make Austin a better place to live for everyone. He served on the boards of the United Way, Paramount Theatre, YMCA, KLRU public television station, and countless other community non-profits. In recent years, he turned his attention to supporting the work of Goodwill Central Texas. Always a believer in the transformative power of education and opportunity, he was instrumental in establishing The Goodwill Excel Center adult high school and co-chaired the campaign that created the Henna Education Center for vocational training.

Les is survived by his beloved Winnie; four children: Kyle Gage (Laura Gage) of Austin, Kitt Georganne Dickey (Jim Dickey) of Jupiter, NC, Cameron Gage (Roxanne Gage) of Austin, and John Gage (David Roohy) of Waltham, MA; seven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. His children remember countless family trips around the country and around the world that broadened their worldview; his quick temper, yes, but also his even quicker (and goofy) laugh; his warm and surprisingly tender heart; his deep sense of responsibility to family, faith, and community; and, above all, his never-failing love for his wife.

Since 2025 Les and Winnie have lived in the memory care unit at The Reserve at Lake Austin where Winnie remains today. The family would like to thank the staff there for their remarkable kindness and care, which continue to give them such peace of mind.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, January 16, 2027, at 2 p.m. at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 3003 Northland Drive, Austin, TX 78757. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family invites memorial gifts to The Goodwill Excel Center, the tuition-free adult high school Les helped establish. Donations in his memory may be made at https://excelcenterhighschool.org/donateonline/

Les was not a perfect man but he was a very good one, who never stopped working to leave the world a better place than he found it.