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I was born the eighth of nine children on 7/17/70 (my lottery numbers would be 7 if I played) to John and Kate Savage in Holland, Ohio, in the Northwest part of the Buckeye state on Lake Erie, just outside of Toledo. As you might expect, I wore mostly hand-me-downs and never had preferred seating in the car, dinner table (sat at an annex at many family events), or family room.
I was raised in a strict Roman Catholic family, where discipline and hard work was the foundation of an incredibly happy childhood in which adventure, freedom and independence won the day. The hours in between my chores and dinner and bed were spent on adventure and neighborhood baseball, football, and basketball with friends and others from the surrounding neighborhoods (organized sports did not dominate our day and we were outside almost all of the time). As was typical for the era and our neck of the woods, I feared my father more than any other human being. If I upset my mom I may as well have committed a capital crime as the punishment was harsh: my dad was the judge, the jury, and executioner. (There is no ambiguity in that statement) Another one of his favorite warning lines was that with nine kids at any point he would be OK if the family had to function with one less child. And of course, the worst line I could hear from my mom is go to your room and your dad will deal with you when he gets home from work (I prayed in those moments my dad had a really good day at work). I loved my parents dearly and they me, and I learned early on that discipline is a difficult, but very high form of love.
My parents’ lives revolved around family. Their life’s work and greatest legacy was teaching us how to grow up and have a loving relationship with God, to work hard, to do good in the community and have family at the center of it all. As a Catholic, I grew up in a house in which we were taught that no religion corners the market on God. We were taught respect and tolerance for all religions, races, and creeds. The bottom line was to live a good life and that if you screw up, take responsibility for it and move on and improve.
My parents worked so hard every day and expected the same of us. A favorite line in our house growing up was “work half days: twelve hours.” My brothers, sisters, and I were put to work peddling the fruits and vegetables we grew in our one-acre garden and mowing the neighborhood lawns. My older siblings were great role models on many fronts, but as a younger brother I was exposed to more than I should have been early in life. However, that exposure brought about a maturity and understanding that helped me avoid many teenage pitfalls. And the fruit peddling and lawn-care business transitioned to construction, factory, and retail work while I was in high school and college, and motivated me to finish my business degree with high marks from Miami of Ohio’s College of Business.
I’ve always personally enjoyed building a financial future (Carolyn would argue at times obsessively) and so I decided that was the best way I could be of service to others. A financial services career fit me perfectly and I work at a firm my father founded, Savage and Associates.
We met on October 28, 1989, early in my sophomore year of college (Carolyn was a whole year and a half older as a junior). I like to remind Carolyn frequently that she is older than me. We fell in love soon thereafter and had a fun college experience, and were engaged a week after graduation. We were married May 29, 1993, and began a life together in a small apartment in Toledo. In each other we found best friends and formed a lasting bond based on common values and a love for family. In each other we had met our match (on multiple levels!), and feel so blessed to have each other as partners in life.
In September, 1994 our son Drew was born, and, after some fertility struggles, Ryan came along in April 1997. Our fertility struggles then began in earnest as we pursued having additional children. Our decade long battle with infertility ended with a successful IVF and our daughter Mary Kate was born in March 2008. That IVF produced extra embryos we had frozen for later pregnancy attempts which led us to a frozen embryo transfer in February 2009 and the call from the doctor alerting us of the medical error.
Drew, Ryan, and Mary Kate are the center of our universe and a joy to raise. Despite all of the challenges and stress that comes with raising children, we believe there is no more important or satisfying career than parenthood. We both enjoy being involved in the church and the community giving of both our time and resources and hope to set the best example possible for our children.
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