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Obituary for Wade York Sams
Wade York Sams, 71, of Stuart, Iowa passed away July 9, 2020 at Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines. Visitation will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. on Sunday, July 12th at the Johnson Family Funeral Home & Crematory – Stuart Chapel. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 A.M. Monday, July 13th at the Johnson Family Funeral Home & Crematory – Stuart Chapel, with burial following at Oakwood Cemetery in Casey. Full Military Honors will be rendered at the committal service.
Wade was born on September 3, 1948 in Atlantic, Iowa to Paul and Katherine (Wilson) Sams, where he grew up and graduated from Atlantic High School with the class of 1966. Wade enlisted with the United States Navy on September 2, 1966 and served in Vietnam before being honorably discharged on April 16, 1968. While serving in Vietnam, Wade was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Ribbon with two bronze stars, Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device and the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon. Following his discharge, he continued with the Navy Reserves for over 20 years. During this time, he was called up to serve in Desert Storm. He was very proud of his many years of service.
After returning from the Navy in 1968, he worked for A.M. Cohron & Son Bridge Company until being employed by the Rock Island Railroad where he worked until 1987. Following that, he went to work for The Iowa Interstate Railroad as a Section Foreman. He continued with them until his retirement in 2010, after 23 years of service. He was a proud member of the Railroad Union.
On March 21, 1993, Wade was united in marriage to Janet Warner at the St. John’s Lutheran Church in Casey. Following their marriage, they made Stuart their home. Some of the things that Wade enjoyed was taking care of his house and tending to his yard, going boating at Lake Panorama, as well as hunting and fishing. He also enjoyed reading, tinkering and working on things and woodworking. He was a big Chicago Bears fan, liked to watch Iowa Hawkeye games and any western with John Wayne in it. He really liked getting together with his railroad retiree friends for their monthly breakfasts. Most of all, he enjoyed spending time with his family and being retired!! Wade was a great person of faith.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Paul and Katherine and brother Mark Sams.
Wade leaves behind his beloved wife, Janet of Stuart; children, Dawn Sams of Exira, Quint (April) Sams of Adel, Karen Harrison of Des Moines, Amy Warner of Ankeny and Rick Warner of Panora; his sister Paula MacArthur of Des Moines, his brother John Sams of Tampa, FL; grandchildren, Hayley, Nicki and Devan Crozier of Ankeny, Aric and Lenaya Sams of Adel; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and we cannot forget his dogs Toby and Joey, all of whom will miss him greatly. Wade Sams was a great man!!
