Mary Rogers Savage led active life of service and in her faith

Mary Rogers Savage, a former occupational therapist who retired to a life of not-so-much leisure on Bainbridge Island, kept herself occupied with groups such as Colonial Dames and Planned Parenthood.

Educated at private schools and descended from the owners of General Mills, she knew a life of privilege.

But she also cultivated a practical intellect. She read widely, did needlework and supported groups that honored nature and freedom.

The Episcopal Church brought abiding comfort.

"Losing her mother at age 11 had a lasting impact," said her daughter Mary Stowell, a psychotherapist on Bainbridge Island. "She was never close to her father, who was busy with his own affairs, so she developed her own ways of coping and caring."

Mrs. Savage died last Saturday (April 22) of cancer. She was 85.

Born in Minneapolis to Mary Van Dusen Rogers (of the Van Dusen milling family) and Charles Rogers, she graduated from St. Timothy's School in Baltimore. She earned a bachelor's degree cum laude in French at Smith College.

Drawn by the intellectual ferment of Europe in the 1930s, she studied at Oxford University and lived in France until 1939.

Earning another degree from Boston's School of Occupational Therapy (now part of Tufts University), she became an occupational therapist attached to the Army in Hawaii during World War II. "She told God that if she didn't find a husband within three months, she would take it was a sign she should join a convent," said Stowell. "Then she met my father."

Wed to John Savage, she lived in Portland and St. Paul, before retiring to Bainbridge Island in 1985.

The Savages built a home at Wing Point Golf & Country Club. She was active in St. Barnabas Episcopal Church and in the faith-related Daughters of the King. She also was a lay member of the Sisters of Transfiguration, an Episcopal religious order.

Her friend Gloria Goller, a Franciscan sister, said Mrs. Savage was "radiant with her faith."

Mrs. Savage simply got a charge being with people and doing things for them, said Stowell.

"And she was active right to the last. At first, she didn't like having to use a walker. Then she made it part of her persona, using it as a sort of queenly appliance."

She long was involved with Planned Parenthood; her husband had shared a college room with a son of the group's founder.

Mrs. Savage also cherished her membership in Colonial Dames, whose members trace back to Colonial America. She had been on the national board and donated antique furniture to the group.

She also loved her plants. Her family brought dozens to her funeral Tuesday and invited friends to take one home.

Also surviving are daughters Elspeth McClelland of Richmond, Va.; and Nancy Savage, Graham, Fla.; and four grandchildren. Her husband of 46 years died in 1992.

Remembrances may go to Planned Parenthood, 2817 Wheaton Way, Suite 211, Bremerton, WA 98310; or to St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 10207, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.