CORNISH, NH

Lewis O. "Lew" Gage, Jr., 75, a longtime resident of Cornish, passed away Thursday morning, July 19 at the Jack Byrne Center in Lebanon, NH.

He was born September 19, 1942 in Bethel, CT the son of Lewis O. and Doris (Lamb) Gage. He received his schooling in Bethel and Danbury, CT and graduated from Danbury High School in 1960. He attended the American Institute of Banking in CT and later the University of Connecticut. He married Virginia A. Blackman on August 14, 1965 in Ridgefield, CT. He served with the Connecticut National Guard as a Lieutenant. He and his wife moved to Cornish in 1969, where Lew worked in carpentry for ten years, most of that time as proprietor of his own business. After volunteering in the Cornish Rescue Squad in 1974 with a term as its president, Lew began his long career in the fire service in 1979 with the Windsor Fire Department, becoming and serving as Fire Chief for several years until his retirement in 2005. He then was employed at Genesis HealthCare in Lebanon until 2016.

Lew was an Eagle Scout, Order of the Arrow, and involved in Scouting in Cornish, member of the Windsor Rotary Club, and an avid Civil War and history "buff".  He was an active member of the Green Mountain Civil War Round Table and the New Hampshire Humanities Council, giving many Civil War presentations. He greatly enjoyed spending time with his family, especially his grandsons.

He was predeceased by his parents. Survivors include his wife of fifty-three years, Virginia Gage of Cornish, one son, Lewis O. Gage III and his wife, Elaine of Dedham, MA, one daughter, Elizabeth A. Gage and her husband, Karl Brewer of Cornish, two grandsons, Lewis O. "LJ" Gage IV and Patrick Gage, both of Dedham, MA.

A public funeral service will be held Saturday, July 28 at 11:00 AM at the Trinity Church at 833 Route 12A in Cornish. Private committal services will be held at the convenience of his family. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to American Battlefield Trust, 1156 15 ^th St. NW – Suite 900, Washington, DC  20005.