A former city councilman died last week at the age of 71.

Edgar Ray Savage died Saturday, according to his son, Carl Savage. He served two terms on City Council, from 1978 to 1986.

“It was important to him, I think, to help people,” Carl Savage said of his father.

Savage was a native of the area and represented the Chuckatuck Borough. He was a farmer for 25 years, including when he was on City Council, and later moved to Edenton, N.C., where he worked for Kellogg Supply for 20 years. He was a member of Western Branch Baptist Church, where he was a former deacon.

Carl Savage said his father was a strict but fair father.

“He told it like it was,” the younger Savage said. “He didn’t beat around the bush about things.”

Andy Damiani, a former mayor and city councilman, said Savage approached his job on City Council in much the same way.

“He knew very little about government, but he grew on it,” Damiani recalled this week. “He became a very good councilperson.”

Savage is survived by three children, four grandchildren and a sister. A funeral was held on Wednesday at Bethlehem Christian Church, and he was buried in the church cemetery.