John Sager

(News Story) DESHLER, Ohio - John Sager, a singer who won acclaim across northwest Ohio and in his adopted hometown of Branson, Mo., where he found a career in musical performance, died Sunday in his Branson home. He was 48.

"John had a massive heart attack. It was totally unexpected," his sister, Susan Myers said.

Mr. Sager won the 2003 Toledo Idol contest, followed by wins in 2004 of Erie Street Idol, in which he received the only perfect score among 240 competitors, and Findlay Idol. He gained exposure by opening for Grammy winner B.J. Thomas at the Stranahan Theater in Toledo and former teen idol Bobby Rydell at the Ritz Theatre in Tiffin.

He started piano lessons at age 9, played trombone and tuba in the Patrick Henry High School band, and as a junior and senior was named the school's best male vocalist. He sang for weddings and other occasions.

"He enjoyed playing and being in front of an audience," his sister said.

He had a knack for dealing with people and became the sales manager of the auto dealership run by his father, James Sager.

"He had personality plus," his mother, Janet Sager, said. With his father's retirement imminent, Mr. Sager in 2009 moved to Branson, a hub for tourists drawn by the town's entertainment offerings.

"He decided this was his time," his mother said.

As a further incentive, he'd earlier fared well in a Branson singing contest, he said in a 2013 video for a prospective Food Network show.

"If I didn't give it a shot, I'd never know," Mr. Sager said in 2013. He made a splash in his first job, busing tables at Mel's Hard Luck Diner, a Branson venue known for its singing servers.

"I was the only singing buser in the whole diner," Mr. Sager said then. "Servers ended up getting upset with me because I ended up selling more CDs than they did."

Eventually he recorded five multi-disc albums. He continued singing as a Mel's server. He also created his own shows at other Branson venues, performing classic rock, country, and soul and his own songs in a smooth baritone. He was a two-time winner of the best male vocalist of Branson award and was honored for his 2011 Gospel-themed CD. During the winter, he performed in the Rio Grande valley of southern Texas.

"Making people happy was his goal, and seeing people smile," his sister said.

He was born Oct. 13, 1968, in Quebec City, Que., adopted by the Sagers when he was 6 months old. In recent years, he learned that his biological father, the late Andre Page', was a musician and got to meet his biological siblings, sisters Lynda, Johanne, Sylvie, Josee', and Irmarie, and brother, Normand.

He was a 1987 graduate of Patrick Henry High and attended Tiffin University. He was a former president of the Deshler Chamber of Commerce and organized a Relay For Life in Henry County.

Also surviving are his daughter, Brooke Sager; parents James and Janet Sager; sister, Susan Myers, and brother, Steve Sager.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Immaculate Conception Church, Deshler, where he was a member. Arrangements are by Rodenberger Funeral Home, Deshler.

The family suggests tributes to the church or a charity of the donor's choice.