Remembering Monroe B. Savage, Jr.

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — Monroe B. “Joe” Savage, Jr. died Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at Heritage House in Vicksburg. He was 83.

A native of Waukegan, IL, and born December 28, 1942, he grew up in Guntown, Miss. Savage graduated from Tupelo High School, Itawamba Junior College, attended the University of Mississippi and graduated from Mississippi State University (MSU) and the Colorado School of Mines (CSM), with three degrees in engineering. 

Savage moved to Vicksburg in 1965 as a co-op student from MSU with the USACE Waterways Experiment Station. He retired in 2003 following over 40 years of service with WES. During his time at WES, he was selected to participate in the “Army Advanced Studies Program” and completed a year and a half at the CSM in Golden, Colo.

Savage worked throughout the United States and abroad on unique and interesting engineering problems. He was a Research Electronics Engineer in the I.T. Lab and had a degree in geotechnical engineering from CSM. He was a registered professional engineer in the State of Mississippi. Savage was active in numerous engineering societies during his career, including: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Mississippi section where he was a Life Senior Member and served as chair for two years and treasurer for 10 years; the Society of Military Engineers (SAME), where he served on the board as program chair and membership chair; the Society of Exploration Geophysics (SEG); the Association of State Dam Safety Officers (ASDSO); and Instrument Society of America (ISA).

Savage had many interests including travel, cars, skeet shooting, and photography, but his favorite was the Miss Mississippi Pageant (MMP) and the Miss America Pageant (MAP). He volunteered for more than 50 years in the organizations. Savage served in numerous positions including as a member of the Board of Trustees, MMP Executive Director, Executive Producer, Scholarship Chairman, Business Manager for Miss Mississippi and Technical Director in Production. Beginning in 1975, he attended the Miss America Pageant for 25 years and helped prepare Miss Mississippi for the national pageant. Savage maintained photographs, videotapes, books, and data of the MMP throughout the years.

Savage was a member of the Mississippi State Alumni Association; the CSM Alumni Association; was a ham radio operator and member of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and active in the Vicksburg Amateur Radio Club (VARC).  

He was a member of First Baptist Church.

Savage was preceded in death by his parents, Monroe, Sr. and Pauline Brown Savage, and his sister, Pamela Savage Scott.

He is survived by numerous relatives and a host of friends.

Services will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in The Chapel of Monsour & Patin Funeral Directors, 1830 Cherry Street, Vicksburg, with the Rev. Jimmy Henry, Pastor of First Baptist Church, officiating. Interment will follow in Greenlawn Gardens Cemetery. Visitation will begin at 1 p.m. until the hour of the service at Monsour & Patin.

Pallbearers will be Steve Butler, Rusty Fuller, Michael Cooper, Alan Kelly, Winky Freeman, Abe Kidder, Randy Cooper, and Earl Edris.

Honorary pallbearers will be the Board and Staff of the Miss Mississippi Pageant Organization.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Miss Mississippi Pageant Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 742, Vicksburg, MS 39181.

The family thanks Dr. Sam Pierce, Morgan Caulfield, NP, and the staff at Heritage House Nursing Center for their compassion and care provided to Joe.

“Well done, good and faithful servant.”  ~Matthew 25:23