Still hale and hearty, Bob Savage celebrates 100th birthday in Tipperary
Bob is veteran of Second World War
An incredible life story was celebrated last week when Bob Savage was honoured on his 100th birthday.
From his active duty with the British army during the Second World War to his almost five decades of voluntary work for the Church of Ireland in his adopted town of Clonmel, this unselfish service to others has been a hallmark of Bob’s long and happy life.
Still hale and hearty, he enjoyed lunch at Hotel Minella with his family to celebrate this very special milestone. The following evening a service of hymns and prayers was held at Old St Mary’s Church in Clonmel, where family and friends gathered to wish him a happy birthday.
At the conclusion of the formalities, Bob thanked everyone who had joined him in the celebrations, as well as his fellow parishioners who had organised the church service.
The service was conducted by diocesan lay reader Janet Morgan. Bob received over 100 cards to mark the occasion, including two that took pride of place at the church - one from President Catherine Connolly, the other from the British king and queen, Charles and Camilla.
He was born on August 18 1926 (the same year as the late Queen Elizabeth II, as he likes to point out) in Rushden, Northamptonshire, one of ten children of John Edward Savage and Violet (nee Woodward). Three of his siblings - Bernard (Septimus), Patricia and Clifford - are still alive, in their 80s and 90s. His other siblings who have passed away were Dick, Albert, Violet, Ronnie, Harold and Edward.
He played tennis and darts as a young man and always had a keen interest in how the England cricket team were performing.
After leaving school he took up employment in a pork pie factory. He then answered the call to join the British army during World War II, spending time in Italy, Greece and Germany. When the war ended in 1945 he was in Germany.
After the war he left the military and went into the leather tanning business, which was prominent in the Northampton area, along with shoe-making.
He enjoyed the single life until his 40th year when he married Elizabeth Anne Levack (known as Anne) in June 1966. Just over a year later their first son Andrew was born, followed by Christopher four years later.
He has one grandchild, Helena.
The family lived in Rushden until 1975, when the tannery where Bob worked closed. He availed of a job opportunity at Ronan's tannery in Clonmel the same year, as the family of four moved to Ireland for a new adventure.
On their arrival in Clonmel the family started attending church in Old St. Mary’s, which was the beginning of many friendships for Bob and Anne. The family lived first in Summerhill Drive and after a few years moved to Cherrymount.
Bob was known for his many years as a church warden, a member of the church's Select Vestry and also for organising the parish whist drives. As his son Andrew says, “And probably 101 other activities in support of the church”.
Anne, meanwhile, became well-known in the town for her baking and knitting and for her work as a midwife in St. Joseph’s Hospital in Clonmel (now Tipperary University Hospital). Andrew and Christopher moved away from Clonmel having completed their degrees at the University of Limerick, but were always frequent visitors back to the family home in Cherrymount.
Bob and Anne celebrated 50 years of marriage in 2016, by which time Bob was caring for Anne as she suffered from reduced mobility before sadly passing away two years later in 2018.
Living alone in his 90s, he still managed to live a healthy life, caring for himself until very recently and was always fond of cooking, gardening and all manner of jobs around the house and garden.
He was always a keen driver and loved cars and bought his last car when he was 97, although he doesn’t drive any more.
Andrew Savage thanked everyone for attending the service to recognise this remarkable milestone in his father’s life. He extended a special word of gratitude to the many friends and neighbours who continue to visit Bob frequently and lift his spirits.