11/18/22. On hearing the news about Sam, Donna Reed wrote, “Sam was one of our nicest, kindest, most talented and fun classmates” and that theme was echoed by the many other class members. Mike Keebler said, “I will always remember Sam as a person who would make you feel special when you talked with him. I can still see the great smile on his face.” Mim Streiff Poag went to the senior prom with Sam and recalls, “He was always the gentleman, always. He truly knew how to treat a young woman with respect.”
Mike Bradley added, “He had a real zest for life” and Sam certainly did. An enthusiastic deep-sea fisherman, Sam fished all over the world, this year in Guatemala. If you look back at the 2019 Class Postings on the class website, there’s a tale about a fishing trip Sam made with three buddies and a guide to Manitoba, CA, when he caught 188 fish in four days.
He and his wife, Pam, were also great travelers and every year they went abroad to a different part of the world, as well as visiting a National Park in the U.S. Devoted to his son and daughter and their families, Sam and Pam often hosted the whole clan at their Lake Wylie home in South Carolina.
For many in our class, Sam will be remembered as one of the band members (playing his saxophone) of the rock and roll band, the Iguanas. The other members were Jim McLaughlin and Jim Osterberg (aka Iggy Pop) from the Class of ’65, and Don Swickerath and Nick Kolokithas from the Class of ’66. They started the band in 1964 and by a year later, were the opening act for some big names, such as the Four Tops and the Shangri-Las, at Club Ponytail in Harbor Springs, MI. In 2018, the Iguanas were voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.
You can view Sam's obituary here.
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