Mr. John Sage
Class of 1966

John Sage was born and raised in Houston, and graduated from St. Thomas in 1966. He attended Louisiana State University where he graduated with a B.S. in Finance and a master’s degree in Business Administration. He was a 3-year letterman for the LSU football team, defensive captain in 1970, and earned All-SEC and second team All-American honors as a defensive tackle. John was selected in the 1971 NFL draft, but chose not to pursue a career in professional sports.

Most of John’s professional life has been spent in the real estate and financial areas of business. He was partner in Sage Land Company and was principal owner of John Sage & Co, an NASD securities broker-dealer firm. He also worked as a consultant for Merrill Lynch and the Resolution Trust Corporation.

In 1993, John’s younger sister, Marilyn, was murdered. After several years of trauma, rage, and grief, this life changing experience inspired John to found and direct Bridges To Life. The primary mission of Bridges To Life is to connect communities to the prisons in an effort to reduce the recidivism rate, particularly that resulting from violent crimes. Based upon the principles of restorative justice, the program brings victims and perpetrators of crime together in an effort to empower victims and rehabilitate prisoners. By taking victims of crime into prisons to facilitate a faith-based 14-week curriculum, offenders are educated on how their actions impact not only their families, but also the families and friends of the victims, and the community at large. Over 6,000 inmates in 27 Texas prisons and 700 volunteers have participated in the program since 2000.

Several universities in Texas now use the Bridges To Life concepts and curriculum material to further the study of restorative justice. The curriculum is also being used in several prisons outside of Texas. This unique program has been recognized for numerous awards and has received significant media coverage, including local PBS, CBS, NBC, and ABC plus various newspapers and magazines, such as Guideposts, Texas Monthly, and Change.

John was featured in the 2007 Basilian newsletter, Stirrings, which is published by the Basilian Fathers to promote peace and justice. He received the Texas Governor’s Award for Restorative Justice Volunteer of the Year in 2002, and the 2004 Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award by the Manhattan Institute in New York City. He is also the recipient of the 2008 Liberty Bell Award that is presented to a Houston area non-lawyer who significantly contributes to a better understanding and appreciation of the justice system.

John served on the board of directors of the St. Thomas Alumni Association from 1995 – 1999, and was president of that board for one year. In 2003, he was inducted into the St. Thomas High School Sports Hall of Fame, and he is currently a member of the board of directors of St. Thomas High School. John and his wife, Frances, have two sons, John ‘96 and Hunter ‘97, and a lovely daughter-in-law, Dominique Samson Sage.