Zella E. Sager, 94 passed away Monday August 14, 2023, in Brush, CO. A graveside service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, August 19, at Merino Cemetery.

Zella was born January 10, 1929, to William Ellis and Katherine Zelma (Jones) Daugherty. She was a graduate of Merino High School. Zella married Leo Sager in 1946 in St. Francis, Kansas and he died suddenly at the age of 46 in June 1970.

Zella was our family matriarch. She was an avid fisherwoman and there wasn't anything she couldn't repair. She and Leo bought houses and remodeled them to rent. She could paint, tile, do electrical and plumbing. She had a cabin at Crystal Lakes and the cabin was a second home to her, she loved sharing the cabin with her family.

Zella was a great cook and made the best caramel corn and cookies in the world. She would rather cook a meal for the family than be taken to a restaurant and prided herself on being fiscally conservative, even while being very generous with her family.

She was a strong woman who enjoyed the simple things in life and was happy at the farm with her sheep, llamas, and dogs who always kept her company.

She loved her grandsons Liam and Sean with every fiber of her being, having nearly given up having grandchildren of her own. She was 70 when Liam came and six years later Sean.

She will be missed.

She is preceded in death by her husband Leo Sager, infant son Kirk Sager, parents, brother Bill Daugherty and sister Margaret Helmut.

Zella is survived by her son Kent Sager, grandsons Liam Sager and Sean Sager all of Merino, CO, and her brother Dan Daugherty of Arnegard, N.D.