Pilot killed in mid-air collision last week remembered as devoted family man who loved serving others

TERRETON – Sage Teichert is simply a man leaving a bequest of aviation crossed eastbound Idaho and beyond.

Teichert, who was killed successful a crop-dusting collision betwixt 2 planes Thursday day successful Butte County, personally trained hundreds of pilots astatine nan Mud Lake, Rigby, Rexburg, Madison County and Idaho Falls Regional Airports.

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But his foremost privilege and accomplishment was his family. Sage and his woman Sarah will person been joined for 19 years connected July 7.

“There is nary uncertainty whatsoever that he loved his family,” said long-time friend Jared Gifford. “He ever had thing affirmative and loving and proud to opportunity astir them.”

Teichert leaves down 2 daughters and 2 sons ages 4 to sixteen. He was nan sole supplier for his family.

Gifford first met Teichert 25 years agone connected their first time successful nan Provo Missionary Training Center. They were some assigned to service successful nan Missouri Independence mission.

As missionaries, Gifford recalls nan 2 of them having aspirations to alert 1 day.

“We’d look up astatine nan entity and spot airplanes flying over, and we conscionable knew we would beryllium flying an airplane 1 day,” said Gifford. “We were surely focused connected missionary activity and being bully missionaries, but successful nan backmost of our minds, we knew we were gonna fly.”

But aviation wasn’t Teichert’s only passion. He besides had an liking successful agriculture and wanted to do thing successful aviation to thief farmers.

“Being a harvest duster was his absolute favorite,” Gifford said of Teichert.

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He loved school student pilots arsenic well.

“I saw him return them from truthful overmuch vexation and not wanting to alert anymore, and him conscionable saying, ‘That’s okay. Let’s conscionable spell person fun. We don’t person to study today,’” Gifford said. “But they’d still learn. They learned to emotion it, and they learned to beryllium safe, and he’d move it astir and thief them spot that emotion of aviation again.”

And Teichert was perpetually serving others, Gifford said — some wrong and extracurricular of airplanes.

Safety was a large attraction for Teichert. He was nan safest of immoderate of nan pilots Gifford knew. For that reason, it’s difficult for him to wrap his caput astir thing for illustration this happening to his friend.

“I’ve had astatine slightest half a twelve pilots telephone and inquire me, ‘How does this hap to Sage?'” Gifford explains.

To thief nan Teichert family complete nan adjacent respective months, a memorial money has been established here.

Friends and family dream to raise $50,000. As of Monday evening, much than $11,580 has been brought successful pinch donations pouring successful from crossed nan country.

“It seems for illustration Sage knew each aviator successful eastbound Idaho, and a batch of them elsewhere,” Gifford said. “I moreover saw today, personification that flew pinch him from Texas donated. (Teichert) helped everybody everyplace he went.”

Sage Teichert. | Courtesy Facebook