Ray O Sage

Ray O. Sage was born in Hays, Kansas, on September 3, 1920. He moved with his mother Ruby to Carlsbad, New Mexico, in 1932, where his mother became the first secretary to the Superintendent of Carlsbad Caverns National Park. After graduating from Carlsbad High School, he returned to Kansas as a freshman at Fort Hays State College. An aspiring pilot, Ray enrolled in the Civilian Pilot Program where he was taught to fly in exchange for a promise to join the military if called. Competing for his time in the air, however, was a young coed, Elizabeth Whitmore, the prettiest girl on campus. Ray and Elizabeth were married in Great Bend, Kansas, on December 20, 1941, less than two weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Very shortly, Uncle Sam came knocking, Ray enlisted, and his military career began. In the spring of 1945, Ray was sent to Hagenau, France, to fly tactical reconnaissance missions over Germany. His plane was a P-51 Mustang, nicknamed "Miss Liz Whiz." Ray flew ten missions, and then Germany surrendered. He prepared to go to the Pacific, but when the Japanese heard he was coming, they gave up too, in August 1945. Like many couples of "The Greatest Generation," Ray and Elizabeth's life together began in war. After the war, the couple began building their future. On their way to the Eastman School of Photography in Rochester, New York, they stopped in Topeka, Kansas, and the couple made a decision that would change their lives. Not wishing to face the cold New York winters, Ray enrolled in Washburn University's law school on the G.I. Bill, from which he would graduate second in his class. After graduation, they returned to Carlsbad, and Ray went into law practice. Eventually, three daughters were added to the family, all of whom loved the Pecos River as much as their parents did. In 1968, the family moved to Las Cruces where Ray continued to practice law with Elizabeth at his side as bookkeeper and gofer. When he finally took down his shingle in 2009, he had been practicing law for 60 years and was the oldest and longest practicing attorney in the State of New Mexico. Ray and Elizabeth became fans of the NMSU Aggies and attended all volleyball, football, softball, baseball, and girls' and boys' basketball games as well as the tailgate parties. They always enjoyed their lunchtimes at Burger Nook. In July of 2010, their daughters and many tailgate friends attended the Las Cruces City Council meeting where Ray and Elizabeth were honored for their wartime service. Throughout his life, Ray was known as a man of integrity who always did what was right. He provided much free legal work for churches and missionaries, served on the board of the Gospel Rescue Mission, was a Gideon, a faithful church attender, and a man of the Word, reading the Bible cover-to-cover many times. His high ethical standards and wisdom served as an example to his children and grandchildren leading them to higher ground and faith in the Lord Jesus. Ray is survived by his "pretty young bride" of 72 years, Elizabeth, daughters Katie Gaffney and husband Pat, Mannie Bemis and husband Tom, Jane Anderson and husband Charlie, grandchildren Laurie Adams and husband Jason, Jennifer Mann and husband Chad, Paul Bemis and fianc