Toy Dixon Savage III ’75

Toy died peacefully Dec. 1, 2024, in Norfolk, Va., at age 71 after a battle with liver disease. To his Princeton roommates, in particular Craig Tyl ’75, the late Mac Friddell ’75, and Tom Darling ’75, Toy was a pitcher, a piano player, and a devotee of history.

Toy’s lifelong commitment to education started as a student himself. In addition to Princeton, he was a alumnus of the Norfolk Academy in 1971 and of the University of Virginia Law School, earning a J.D. in 1980. His Princeton A.B. was in history, and his thesis inspired a love of writing. Toy’s taste for history was omnivorous: he was a dedicated student of the Tidewater region and its heritage; maps and geography; wine; historic golf courses; music; and baseball. He was honored when his history of Norfolk Academy was put in the Library of Congress.

Toy’s teaching career began in his “gap years” between Princeton and UVA at the Gilman School in Baltimore. After law school, he joined the firm Miles & Stockbridge in Baltimore for four years before moving home to Norfolk to work with his father at Willcox & Savage. His passion for secondary education, however, took him back in 1986 to his alma mater Norfolk Academy, where Toy went on to build his life’s work as an educator, administrator, historian, and coach until 2023.

Toy was also the social chair of Tiger Inn, in an era of memorable good fun in the early 1970s. He was a self-taught pianist who knew just the right song to play for any group at any moment. His baseball passion came to fruition in grand fashion after Commencement with a tour of all 30 MLB stadiums (plus a few that have since been retired), completed with his wife, Gail “Gay” Linsly Savage, over a span of 12 years.

At Princeton senior year, Toy was part of a 16-person group in a quartet of Spelman suites, brand new in 1974. From Spelman 12 he, along with Tyl, Mike Gill ’75, and Kevin Clancy ’75 commanded the heights above what is now Whitman College, spending important non-thesis time on Monty Python, bridge, and daytime drama. (Darling, Randy Barba ’75, Nick Paul ’75, and Friddell were on the other side of the wall that was graced by a moose head.)

Toy is best known for his late-night Saturday flings at the Tiger Inn piano. He finished always with “American Pie.” His signature pieces were from Sir Elton John: “Levon” and “Tiny Dancer.” He was never more excited than when a group of us, dressed to the nines, saw Elton at Philly’s Spectrum.

In addition to Gay, his beloved wife of 49 years, Toy is survived by his daughters, Caroline, Ann, and Virginia; his five grandchildren; and his sister, Tracy G. Savage. We join them in remembering Toy’s chuckle with a smile.