John Donald Gage

John Donald Gage, 72, of Hamilton, MT passed away Tuesday, January 18, 2011 in his home. He was born July 20, 1938 in Letts, Iowa, the son of the late Clyde Dale Gage and Edith Mae Connor Gage.
John moved to Los Angeles, CA during his high school years and, after graduation from Covina High School, he entered into the Air National Guard, where he started his career in telecommunications.
He went on to work for General Telephone Company in 1956 and worked in Plant and Engineering until 1968. He then moved into consulting telecommunications engineering services, holding various managerial and engineering positions in the Domestic and International marketplace. In 1982, he entered the PBX environment as the Senior Plant Engineering Manager for ROLM Corporation. In 1991, he transferred directly into IBM as a Strategic Technical Planner for Network Transport Communications Systems Applications. He moved on to become Senior Engineer-Scientist on the headquarters development staff of Customized Operational Services (COS) in IBM U.S., with a focus on development of telecommunications connectivity solutions and standards. In 1991 he was awarded the Harry J. Pfister Award for Excellence in Telecommunications. Throughout his career and retirement, John was a dedicated member of BICSI " serving as past President 1996-1997, as a member of the Board of Directors, and on committee chairs. He was also a contributing member of NFPA/NEC, IEEE, and was active on six TIA/EIA committees for developing telecommunications industry standards relating to cabling systems and support structures worldwide.
John moved to Hamilton in 2001. He loved fishing, rock hounding, hunting, gardening, camping, and photography. He was a member of the Hamilton Senior Community Center.
John is preceded in death by his parents, Clyde and Edith, and his brother Ronald Theron Gage. John is survived by his son and daughter, Jeff Gage and wife Mary Virginia of Atlanta, GA, and Cynthia Gage of Wake Forest, N.C.; three grandchildren Justin Kohler, Sara Gage, and Rachel Gage, all of GA.
The family suggests that memorials be made to the National Wildlife Federation, 11100 Wildlife Center Dr., Reston, VA 20190-5362.