Saige December Earley was born on Dec. 19, 1994 in Syracuse. Saige spent the majority of her life in Cazenovia with her family. Saige passed away on Sept. 16, 2018, at the age of 23.
She is survived by her beloved son, Julian Thyme, her parents Ellen Ayer Earley and Jason Earley and her loving siblings, Taylor, Hope and Maxwell (Maeve) Earley; her grandparents Deborah DeRusha, Lois Ayer and partner Pete Reese, as well as her devoted aunts, uncles and cousins. Saige will be missed by her bonus family Nancy Earley, and Fritz, Sabrina and Aaron Sakran, her nephew Dylan Anthony, as well as Julian’s godmother, Gia Sylvester.
While in school, Saige was a gifted student with a ton of friends. Saige was very artistic. She expressed this any way she could, whether it be writing, drawing, tattoos or the way she dressed, you could see her creativity right down to her son’s long flowing locks of curls.
She recently returned to her lifelong love of dance passed along by her mother, as that always provided her with confidence when she needed it. This past Christmas, while in treatment, she still took time to decorate by making snowflakes from paper and sparkles for her halfway house. She was a cat whisperer. She loved making peanut butter cookies and settling in for a night of Netflix binge watching with her mother. She loved makeup and fashion.
She was a walker, which seems like an odd thing to mention, but a daily stroll for Saige is like a marathon to most – she enjoyed spending time outside and with nature. She was very interested in music, often finding an obscure video and sending it to her dad to also enjoy.
Saige spent some time recently in Florida where met many supportive people who helped her, and the family is in debt to her counselors and friends at United Recovery Project, Our Solutions Recovery and her peers in recovery.
Saige had an eye for detail and tremendous empathy for the underdog. She could find the absurdity in life’s details, some funny, some simply maddening, especially maddening when the absurdity hurt the underdog.
While she loved to walk, she absolutely needed to run, to escape for just a moment every now and again. Whether she escaped in her insatiable appetite for books, dancing till exhausted, headphones blaring music, walks upon walks, or the drugs that cut her life so terribly short, she simply needed to run. But she always wanted to return, to make us laugh, to love her baby, to show us this cruel yet fascinating world through her eyes.
She ran again last weekend and within 48 hours she was ready to return to us. On Sunday she was in the airport, on her way back to treatment, but she never made her flight. She ran just a little too far this time.
She left a tribe that loved her and that tribe will keep her memory and spirit alive as we care for her son.
Calling hours for Saige will be 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018, at the Ayer & Zimmer Funeral Home, 38 Sullivan St. Cazenovia. A memorial service will follow at 1 p.m. After the service, please join the family at Lakeside Park, 85 Forman St., Cazenovia, for lunch and to celebrate Saige’s love of the outdoors. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Julian Thyme Earley Education Fund c/o Mrs. Aubrey Panek, 109 Big Bend Way, Warners, NY 13164.