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Marshal Savage died suddenly on Jan. 22 at age 45, leaving behind his beloved wife and eight children, ranging in age from 7 to 28.

Without warning or previous signs of serious illness, he suffered a heart attack around 3 o'clock that Sunday afternoon as he was watching TV.

From his wife Sandra's telling, it was one giant ticker that stopped working that day. It pumped life into a man who liked a bit of adventure, enjoyed gardening and his motorcycle, was always willing to help out and had enough love to adopt two children with Down syndrome to be siblings to his own.

"He had a heart for everybody," Sandra said. "He was an all-around nice guy."

Sandra described their life as both modest — a small house, staying within their means — and full of new experiences, taking big trips every couple of years, and enjoying everything from Broadway plays and ballet performances to Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne concerts. Marshal grew beautiful flower beds from seed and enjoyed shooting with his buddies at the Helderberg Gun Club. If his wife pointed something out that she liked, Marshal would find a way to buy it for her, sooner or later.

A gofundme site was set up to help the family of Marshal Savage. Find it at https://www.gofundme.com/donations-family-of-marshal-savage

"I got to be a little bit careful about that," Sandra said.

When they first met, Marshal worked as an aide to a disabled man, a job he liked. But Sandra noticed Marshal had a way with computers and encouraged him to pursue a degree. He did, and got good-paying work as an information technology specialist. The state was his employer for 23 years.

The couple raised a big family. When they met 20 years ago, Marshal was already father to Tabetha, then 3, and two older children, Michael and Samantha, who lived in Michigan. They had three more of their own: two boys named Elisha and Ezra, and a girl named Summer.

After Summer, now 8, was born with Down syndrome, the Savages decided to adopt another child like her. They found a baby girl, Autumn, for adoption in Ukraine in 2010. When they learned another girl with Down syndrome, Masha, then 2, would be sent to a mental institution because she had not been adopted, they brought her home from Ukraine, too.

Sandra has been busy managing routines for the five minor children, ages 7 to 13. She works about 10 hours a week from home as a consultant on a project to create a Down syndrome research biobank.

She was terrified about her family's future when Marshal died less than two weeks ago, but now knows she'll have health insurance and continued assistance for the three girls.

"I'm not going to worry about college and weddings," she said. "I'm going to worry about tomorrow, and I think that's covered."

chughes@timesunion.com • 518-454-5417 • @hughesclaire

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