Robert William (“Bob”) Sagers, 87, of Dublin, went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, passing away quietly at Carilion New River Valley hospital on Sept. 30, 2026, with his loving wife Rebecca by his side.
Born on April 8, 1939, in Piedmont, W.Va. to Wade Hampton Sager and Alice Jones Sager (and delivered by Rebecca’s father, Dr. Robert William Bess), Bob graduated from Piedmont High School in 1957. He dreamed of flying airplanes ever since the age of nine when he first saw an airplane take off and land at a local landing strip. To achieve this goal, Bob enlisted in the West Virginia Air National Guard in 1957 after high school, taking the train to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas for basic training and then to jet mechanic school in Amarillo, Texas. After training, he returned to West Virginia to Shepherd Field Air National Guard Base in Martinsburg, W.Va., joining the 167th Fighter Interceptor Squadron as a mechanic on F-86 jet fighters.
On Jan. 1, 1961, Bob reported to Officer Candidate School and successfully completed the program, earning his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. He then went to Pilot Training in Aug. 1961 in Selma, Ala., at Craig Air Force Base, graduating and earning his wings in Aug. 1962. He then returned to Martinsburg as a pilot with the renamed 167th Aeromedical Transport Squadron, flying aircraft such as the C-119 Flying Boxcar, the C-121 Super Constellation, and the C-130 Hercules, eventually earning promotion to the rank of Captain. He flew cargo missions both to Europe and to the Pacific, including to Da Nang Air Base during the Vietnam War. As a member of the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, he was also able to pursue a career in civilian aviation, joining United Airlines in August 1963.
During this period, on a medical mission with the Air Guard, Bob met a flight nurse named Ann Gardner of Leetown, W.Va. They married in Jan. 1967 and had two sons. The family moved several times as Bob’s career progressed, living in Waterford, VA, Medina, OH, and Fallbrook, CA. His career path included serving as a flight engineer, co-pilot and then Captain on airplanes such as the Douglas DC-6 and DC-8, the Vickers Viscount, the Boeing 720, 727, 737, 747, and 747-400. He served as the Chairman and Captain’s representative for the Los Angeles council of United’s pilots union, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), from 1988-1992. He spent his final years with United flying non-stop international flights from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago to Pacific Rim cities such as Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney, Australia. He retired from United in April 1999, settling in Leetown, W.Va. on land Ann had bought from her grandmother in 1961.
Bob and Ann were married for almost 40 years before her death in Dec. 2006. Later, Bob and Rebecca reconnected for the first time since high school and were married in 2011, enjoying 15 happy years together in Dublin.
Surviving Bob are his wife Rebecca Bess Sagers; sons, John H. Sagers (Wendy) of McMinnville, Ore., and Judson W. Sagers (Kristin) of Skillman, N.J.; grandsons, Robert J. Sagers and Thomas F. Sagers of McMinnville, Ore.; brother-in-law, Joseph Niland of Keyser, W.Va.; step-sons, Jamie Kenny (Kelly) of Floyd, Va., Jeffrey Kenny (Kristen) of Boiling Springs, S.C., and Andrew Kenny (Gina) of Rineyville, Ky.; numerous nieces, nephews and step-grandchildren, and many other relatives and special friends.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Wade and Alice Sager; his first wife, Ann G. Sagers; sisters, Doris Germaine Hadley, Grace Lorraine Stevenson, Elizabeth Joann Fitzgerald, and Nancy Alice Niland; stillborn brothers, Mark Holmes Sager and David Michael Sager; and brothers-in-law, Richard Hadley, Raymond Stevenson, Dr. Russell Fitzgerald, John Franklin Gardner III (and wife Dorothy), and Robert K. Gardner.
One of Bob’s favorite Bible verses, which he often read at the annual Sager family reunion and which he referred to as the greater family reunion, was 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. This was his great hope in life and death.
A graveside service with full military honors will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, at the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery in Dublin with Rev. Morgan Whitfield officiating.
The Sagers family is in the care of Mullins Funeral Home & Crematory in Radford.
