- Date Of Birth: July 26, 1965
- Date Of Death: October 6, 2016
- State: Montana
Melanie Rae Sage Dalimata was born July 26, 1965 to Francis Jean Holt Sage and Elmer R. Sage in Bozeman MT. She passed away surrounded by friends and family on October 6 after a fierce and valiant battle with cancer.
She was the 10th of 11 children. She grew up near Sturgis SD before moving to Livingston MT . She graduated in Oregon and began working with the MMDD for the state of Idaho. After reading a poem in a magazine “Common Ground” by Ron Ridenour, Melanie was drawn the Glacier Park Canyon where she tended bar at every watering hole in the area. It was through this journey that she met Mark Dalimata and they were married in Idaho May 1st, 1998. Mark and Melanie were truly soul mates and were together over 20 years before she passed away.
She had a feisty fighting spirit. She loved kids, windchimes, the color purple, hummingbirds, eagles and chickens and Mother Earth. Her favorite flower was “kid picked”. She loved the movie “Men in Tights”, Sid from “Ice age”, any music from 1920 to 2525. She loved life and making people smile. She honored her Catholic faith and embraced her Native roots. Melanie’s spirit will be carried on in others as she was an organ donor.
She was preceded in death by both her parents Francis and Elmer, brothers Danny and Perry, and her granddaughter Mariella. She is survived by 8 brothers and sisters, her husband Mark and his family, and numerous brothers and sisters of circumstance. Her caring and committed heart lives on in the people from “The Canyon” who she truly loved. She never knew a stranger, only a friend who she had not met.
