The family of Don Gage has scheduled an upcoming funeral mass and a celebration of life in honor of the former mayor of Gilroy, who died March 25 at age 79.
A funeral mass for Gage will take place at 10am April 5 at St. Mary Parish, 11 First St. in Gilroy, said his wife, Jeanne Gage.
Then at 2pm May 17, there will be a celebration of Gage’s life at Old City Hall, 7400 Monterey St. in downtown Gilroy. The celebration will be an open house with food and beverages, Jeanne said.
Gage died due to complications from injuries he suffered from a fall at his Gilroy home.
An icon of South County politics, Gage was well-known and respected in Gilroy, where his ideas and decisions as an elected public official had an impact on just about everyone.
Gage served as a Gilroy City Council member from 1981-1991; mayor from 1991-1997 and from 2013-2015; Santa Clara County Supervisor from 1997-2010; and Santa Clara Valley Water District Director from 2010-2012.
He was once recognized by the county for leading efforts to widen Highway 101; protect open space; adopt guidelines to regulate group homes; and build the South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill.
He chaired an effort with the City of San Jose to improve services for older adults and created a county graffiti program. He was a recipient of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce’s Man of the Year award and accepted the Helen Putnam Award for creating the Gilroy Youth Center, reads a proclamation presented to him by the county several years ago.
