Redmond "Red" Thomas Sage

Redmond Thomas Sage 89, of Coloma passed from this life on Tuesday, October 8, 2019.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 am, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Watervliet, Saturday, October 19, 2019, with burial in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Watervliet.  Visitation will be Friday, October 18, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM with a prayer service at 7:30 at Hutchins Funeral Home in Watervliet. Memorials may be made to Home Sweet Home. You are invited to leave a message of comfort for Red’s family at hutchinsfuneral.com

Red was born November 6, 1929, and grew up in Dayton, Ohio the oldest of the seven children of Thomas and Louise (McCord) Sage. 

Red graduated from the University of Dayton with a B.S. in Mathematics in 1952.  He was a member of the Ohio National Guard and liked to say he started out at the lowest rank the army ever had, Recruit, which was dropped because it was considered demeaning. In 1952 he served in Korea as a Prisoner of War Interrogator at the rank of Lieutenant with the 505 Military Intelligence Service Platoon attached to the Thirty-Second Infantry Regiment and the Seventeenth Infantry Regiment of the Seventh Infantry Division.  After serving in Korea he returned to the States and attended Purdue University where he received a M.S. in mathematics in 1955.

Red started his industrial career applying Mathematics and Statistics at Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., Newark, Ohio.  It was during that time that he met and married Patricia Anne Irwin in Columbus, Ohio, November 15, 1958.  In 1963 he joined Whirlpool Corporation in engineering and research retiring in 1988.  He was responsible for organizing the first computer system to be applied in an engineering department at Whirlpool and for the development of the Whirlpool Total Quality Assurance System.  In 1979 he was awarded the Elisha Grey II Award for outstanding scientific achievements from the Whirlpool Chapter of Sigma Xi.  He had an interest in writing and created a compilation of life lessons as essays for his daughters and grandsons.  In concert with his brothers he created a book about their military experiences, the similarities and difference among four brothers.

Red held an interest in education during his entire life.  He taught various classes on mathematics and engineering subjects at Purdue University, Denison University, Michigan State University, Western Michigan University and Lake Michigan College.  He taught many seminars in the Industrial environment and in 1988 started consulting and teaching seminars on Statistics and Quality Control as his own business.

Red had many hobbies, from sea to sky.  He was very close with his family, including his beloved grandsons.  Red was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Parish, Watervliet.  He served as a Eucharistic Minister, Lecturer, CCD instructor, and School Board member.  He was a Third Degree member of the Knights of Columbus.  He was a member of Sigma Xi, President of the local chapter of The American Society for Quality Control, member of The Robotic Institute, The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, Past Commodore of The Paw Paw Lake Yacht Club and member of the Veterans organizations Lest We Forget and The Korean War Veterans of Southwest Michigan.

Redmond is survived by his two daughters, Susan (James) Ridge and Barbara Sage both of Coloma, three grandsons Patrick (Morgan Roggow) Ridge, Nicholas Ridge, and Jason Ridge, and three great grandchildren Leamarie Lucker, Olivia Ridge, and James Ridge.  His wife Patricia preceded Red in death.

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