Fred Bruce Savage

Early Sunday morning on the 28th of July, 2019, Fred Bruce Savage or, to those who knew him, 'Bud', slipped the bonds of earthly life after a short but exacting battle with lung cancer. Born on July 19th, 1930, Bud's time on this planet found its expression in a love supreme: of family, service and for the coast and woodlands of Maine. Bud was born to Margaret Jonah Savage and Fred Byron Savage in Auburn, Maine. He attended Old Town High School and Kent's Hill prep where he excelled in athletics. It was at the latter where he met Natalie Savage, with whom he settled in Hyannis, Cape Cod, and had four children: David, Susan, Steven and Wendy. Bud served proudly in the US Air Force from 1951 to 1955, where he acquired the life skills that would sustain him through the remainder of his career. He plied his trade working for the Lone Star and Dragon cement companies before joining Commonwealth Electric. In 1999, he left Cape Cod to retire to The Villages in Florida. He was a long time volunteer for the recently widowed as a grief-share facilitator at the New Covenant Church and in this role, touched many a heart. He is survived by his partner Elois Woytovich, his friend and sweetheart from grade school, with whom he reunited following the passing of his second wife Margaret, and leaves his four children, five grandchildren and five great grandchildren as well. Bud leaves countless indelible impressions upon those who shared their lives with him, imparting in the family a love for campfires and sleeping bags which has been inherited through the generations. At the time of his passing, companions in attendance smelled the distinct scent of wood smoke but couldn't find the source of it...a gift of his spirit, his daughter Susan surmised. Another one of life's mysteries. His children carry a raft of vivid memories of Bud from their early years: his strict table side manor that resulted in many dinners with the offender relegated to the corner; the long rides to Cold Stream Pond for a summer vacation of boating, canoeing, hiking and swimming; the drive home marked by late night conversation with Dad, the rest of the family often asleep; conversations, delivered later in his life by phone, that always informed, advised and explored, right on until his passing day. Other memories include delivering a boat from Eastport to Bar Harbor and having to seek shelter from a storm, dining on lobster stew in a fisherman's shack in the Cow's Yard and learning to address life's vicissitudes as father and child. In the second act of his life, Bud proved himself to be the consummate grandfather. Whether it was soccer, football, basketball or musical theater, he would do his best to attend, with a camera primed and ready. As his grandchildren grew, graduations and PhD thesis defenses took over and Bud was there. His love and mastery of golf sustained his athletic endeavors for much of his life as well as close attention to the fortunes of the Red Sox, Bruins and Patriots. Bud's resounding baritone Maine accent and his sing-song humming will echo eternally in the memories of everyone who knew him well. In the wafting smoke of the wood stove and campfire, his spirit will live on. Memorial donations may be made to "Beds for Kids", 1800 Camden Road, Suite 107-17, Charlotte, NC 28023 or online at bedsforkids.org and click the donate tab. A memorial service will be held at The New Covenant United Methodist Church, 3470 Woodridge Dr,, The Villages, FL on Saturday, August 17, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. Arrangements entrusted to Beyers Funeral Home and Crematory, Lady Lake, FL. Online condolences may be left at www.BeyersFuneralHome.com

Fred Bruce Savage

July 19, 1930 - July 28, 2019