(Jo Savage, left, on photo shoot at Palouse Falls)
A memorial service for Jo E. Savage, art director for Washington State Magazine, will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 15, at the Community Congregational Church, 525 NE Campus. There will be a simple service followed by a reception at the church.
Savage died Saturday afternoon when the car she was driving broke through a cement retaining wall, plunged from the fifth level of the River Park Square parking garage in Spokane and landed on its roof on Spokane Falls Boulevard.
Savage’s car, a Subaru Outback station wagon, reportedly punched its way over a 6-inch high cement barrier, then crashed through the 9-foot long, 5-inch thick, steel-reinforced concrete exterior. Several people witnessed the accident, which occurred shortly after noon; no one else was injured.
Emergency crews, arriving within minutes, said Savage was unconscious but breathing. It took about 20-30 minutes to extract her from the crushed vehicle. She then was transported to Sacred Heart Medical Center, where she died about three hours later.
Savage, 62, resided in Pullman and was a 1970 graduate of WSU with a Master of Fine Arts degree. She had been employed by WSU since 1970, was the graphic designer for Universe magazine for more than a decade, then became the art designer for Washington State Magazine in 2000.
Rick Andreas, a witness who had just parked his car about 50 feet away from the concrete barrier, told The Spokesman-Review, “I heard a big crash, then a tire squealing like she didn’t let off the gas. Then there was the screeching of the chain link fence as the car went over. By the time I looked, she had already gone over the edge.”
The cause of the accident is under investigation.
Tim Steury, editor of Washington State Magazine, who worked with Savage for the past 16 years, said he saw her last on Thursday evening as they walked to their cars. “She seemed in perfect health and was in good spirits.”
Steury described her as a consumate professional. “It’s been an incredible pleasure to work with her. Everything she did was done well. Every new issue we had was always our best yet.”
The overall editorial planning for Washington State Magazine is done by the entire staff, he said, but “what readers refer to as the look, feel and image of the magazine is all Jo.”
The May 2006 issue of the magazine was virtually completed last weekend and will be sent to the printers this month. 
(Jo Savage on photo shoot with Tim Steury, center)
Savage lived alone but had a son in California and other family in Lewiston. She was a skilled gardener, loved hiking and the outdoors, and was involved in several civic causes, including the university’s arboretum committee.
“Besides being a wondersful designer and co-worker, she was a good friend,” said Steury, “that’s where I’m going to feel the greatest loss. She was interested in everything, and anything she did she became well versed in, so she was a delight to be around. We’ll miss her greatly.”
For additional news articles click on the following links:
* April 11, 2006 – Citizen leaves lasting impression on co-workers, The Daily Evergreen, www.dailyevergreen.com/disp_story.php?storyId=17549
* April 9, 2006 — Woman dies after car plummets from River Park Square garage, The Spokesman Review,
http://spokesmanreview.com/local/story.asp?ID=125356
* April 10, 2006 — Investigation set for garage fall, The Spokesman Review,
http://spokesmanreview.com/idaho/story.asp?ID=125445
* April 11, 2006 — Weekend accident not the first at RPS garage, but still a mystery, The Spokesman Review,
http://spokesmanreview.com/local/story.asp?ID=125565,
* April 12, 2006 — “Engineers will investigate River Park Square garage after fatal crash,” KXLY, http://www.kxly.com/news/index.php?sect_rank=2§ion_id=560&story_id=1671
* April 14, 2006 — Daily Evergreen,
http://www.dailyevergreen.com/disp_story.php?storyId=17622
* May 2, 2006 — The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesmanreview.com/local/story.asp?ID=128605
