Sager Williams - Obituary

ager A. Williams, 94, died peacefully in his Annapolis home on August 7, 2013. Sager, or “Will” to many of his earlier friends, was born on December 26, 1918 in Bellwood, Pennsylvania. Sager grew up in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, one of 10 children of the late Milton and Kathryn McHugh Williams. As the Great Depression settled over the nation, Milton was killed in a railroad accident, but with the older children pitching in and help from other family and friends, Kathryn was able to raise her 10 children to adulthood. Sager graduated from Chambersburg High School in 1937. As the United States was being drawn closer to World War II, Sager enlisted in the United States Army in September 1940. He was honorably discharged at the end of the war in 1945. Sager met and married the late Virginia (Ginny) Kiser Williams in 1948. They had two sons, Sager, Jr., now of Annapolis, and James Michael, now of Shady Side. Sager and Ginny celebrated their 60th anniversary a month before Ginny’s death in October 2008. After selling a business he started, and graduating from the University of Maryland with a BA degree, Sager began teaching in junior and senior high schools in Prince George’s County, retiring in 1984. While teaching, Sager coached a variety of sports, from football and basketball to tennis and golf. In 1966, he coached Fredrick Douglas High School, Upper Marlboro, to a boy’s state championship in basketball. Sager himself was a gifted athlete, a champion weightlifter in his 20s, and an avid tennis player all his life. He was still playing tennis when he celebrated his 94th birthday in December 2012. Sager enjoyed many other outdoor activities, including cross-country skiing, camping and boating, as well as water skiing from the Rhode River home he shared with Ginny for 50 years. Sager is survived by his two sons, his sister Doris Jean Walders of Oakdale, CT and his sister-in-law, Betty Kiser Vogt of Vero Beach, FL, as well as many loving nieces and nephews. Sager’s sons will host a life celebration for friends and family at a later date. Sager’s family asks that those who would like to make a memorial contribution in his name please do so at the Hospice of the Chesapeake, www.hospicechesapeake.org.