Samuel Leslie Buzby

 
Samuel Leslie Buzby was born on July 30, 1932 in Fairbanks, Alaska. The fifth of seven children of Jayson Grant Buzby and Mary Isabel Croucher, Sam was filled with stories of growing up during the Great Depression – adventures many children could only dream of now: helping his parents tend to their homestead, gardens and greenhouses; working at the family’s nearby lumber mill; driving his dad’s new tractor down the highway only to be pulled over for being too young to drive; eating his favorite moose steaks his mom prepared from his dad’s hunts; learning from his older sisters and playing with his younger twin siblings, all who he adored; and even learning to brew beer with his dad (which his uncles let him drink a bit too much once, but his mother made sure that didn’t happen again). So many stories of life in Alaska before statehood — a source of great pride all his life. 
 
Sam’s father instilled in him the need to accomplish something every day, and he was determined to live up to that example. His mother taught him the value of honesty, resourcefulness, the importance of a strong, supportive family, and an abiding faith in God. He lived these lessons his entire life, while his health allowed it. 
 
As with driving and brewing before he was old enough, Sam married Marlene Dennis before completing high school – so young his dad had to give his consent. Once off the homestead, Sam first worked for a local newspaper and print shop in Fairbanks, then at an auto dealership selling cars. 
 
Sam and Marlene had two sons, Glen Michael and Steven, before divorcing. His second marriage, to Patricia (Pat) Davies, brought along two sons from her first marriage: John and Joe. Pat and Sam added three more sons, James (Jim), Jayson, Jeffery, and their daughter, Robyn.
 
After Sam’s second marriage ended and his dealership sent him to open a store in Anchorage, Sam married Rosemarie DiBene, who had a daughter, Trudie, and a son, John, from her previous marriage. Together they had one daughter, Lesley. Sam worked for B & C Supply in Anchorage before moving the family to Kodiak, Alaska, where he started his own marine hydraulics business. Sam and Lesley spent lots of father-daughter time together camping and fishing around Kodiak Island after he and Rosemarie divorced.
 
With his sons’ help, Sam’s Hydraulics Service and Supply business thrived. The team worked on nearly every fishing boat in Kodiak Harbor, and a number of the seafood processing plants where hydraulic repairs or new installations were needed. If need be, they’d even fly out to aid boats on the ocean miles from shore. The work was hard and dirty, but vital for the local crabing and fishing industry.
 
Sam met Marlys Hansen after she moved from Spokane, Washington, to Kodiak in 1981 for work. They got to know each other and became friends during Sunday services at St. James the Fisherman Episcopal Church. The couple married in 1982. Their son, Samuel, was born in Kodiak. When the hydraulics business ended, Sam, Marlys and Samuel moved to Astoria, Oregon, where Sam worked as a millwright out of Longview, Washington. In 1991, the couple welcomed their daughter, Maura – Sam’s baby girl and the last of his children, all born across a span of an incredible five decades. 
 
The four moved to Spokane in 1992. Sam worked at a stove shop, then became a stay-at-home dad to Samuel and Maura, making wonderful memories with both children on the family’s five acres in the East Farms area. The family attended St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and then the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Spokane Valley, where Sam’s beautiful bass voice could be heard in the church choirs on many a Sunday.
 
Continuing the Buzby tradition of fathers and sons working side-by-side, Sam Sr. joined Sam Jr. at The Plant Mill garden nursery in Post Falls, Idaho, and again at Montgomery Hardware in Spokane Valley, until his health finally forced him to retire in 2011 at age 79. After retiring, Sam continued growing alfalfa on his acreage and tended to his large yard and garden, caring for his dogs, and ever striving to “do something every day,” even if that just meant a visit with some of his many, many grandchildren.
 
Sam’s health gradually declined over the past decade, with many minor conditions beginning to add up before finally being diagnosed with dementia. While his memory began to fade, his stories never did. He could occasionally be spotted at a local brewery, sharing tales of Alaska over a pint with family. Above all, he loved his life, his God, his wife, and all of his kids, to the very end. 
 
Sam passed away on the night of May 26, 2023 – exactly one month shy of his 41st wedding anniversary with Marlys, and nearly two months away from turning 91. He died peacefully at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, having been surrounded by family all day, and with Marlys at his side. 
 
Sam was preceded in death by his parents Jay and Isabel, his son Glenn Michael, his daughter Lesley, and by all of his siblings: sisters Esther Redhead, Barbara Boyle, Betty Wells and Robyn McFetridge, and brothers George Buzby and Ronald Buzby, as well as numerous uncles, aunts and cousins in Alaska. 
Sam is survived by his wife, Marlys, their children, Sam (Heather) Buzby, and Maura (Darrik) Teller, and by Sam's children: Steven (Sandy) McCoy, Joe Wilcomb, John (Olivia) Wilcomb, Jim (Myrna) Buzby, Jayson Buzby, Jeff (Karen) Dean, Robyn (James)
Sanders, John DiBene and Trudie (Greg) Kirkland. He is also survived by many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. 
 
Funeral services and Holy Eucharist for Sam will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 8, 2023, at The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, 127 E. 12th Ave. in Spokane, followed by his inurnment at St. John’s Columbarium, and a reception with the family.
 
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a gift in Samuel L. Buzby’s memory to: 
·         Joya Child & Family Development - www.joya.org 
·         St. John’s Cathedral - www.stjohns-cathedral.org 
·         The Alzheimer’s Association - www.alz.org 
or to the charity of your choice. 
 
“Our breath is brief, and being so 
Let's make our heaven here below, 
And lavish kindness as we go.”  
 
– Robert W. Service
 

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