"SAM" Paul Whitcomb

WHITCOMB, Sam Paul Sam Whitcomb, age 83, died peacefully in his sleep on March 28, 2013, at the Riverview Care Center. He is survived by his beloved wife of nearly 60 years, Janet Whitcomb; his three daughters and their spouses: Holly Whitcomb Henry and Micheal Henry, Sue Whitcomb and Jim Lenker, and Libby Whitcomb Forsyth and Greg Forsyth; his three grandchildren: Ali, Ian, and Owen; and his brothers Max Whitcomb and Paul Shager. Services will be held on Saturday, April 6, 2013, at 11:00 AM at First Presbyterian Church, followed by a celebration of Sam’s life. Family was everything to Sam. It would be hard to find a more loving and steadfast husband, father, grandfather and brother. Sam was born at the tail end of 1929, and grew up in Seattle and Mukilteo, WA. He graduated from Queen Anne High School in Seattle, and attended the College of Puget Sound (Now UPS) on a four-year football scholarship, where he was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. Upon graduation from college, he went to Naval Officers Candidate School in Rhode Island, and then served in the United States Navy for 4 years, primarily on active duty on a destroyer during the Korean War. He grew up on the water and got his first dinghy at 10 years old, starting a lifelong love affair with water craft of all shapes and sizes. After leaving the Navy and a brief stint in industrial sales, Sam spent most of the rest of his career in the boat business. He bought the old Bryant’s Marina location on the Spokane River in 1966 and turned it into River City Marina, a boat dealership business he ran with integrity and success until selling it to daughter Libby and son-in-law Greg. Sam was a good and faithful servant of the Lord and of the community of faith. He served as an Elder of Opportunity Presbyterian Church, and later as a Deacon for First Presbyterian Church. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial contributions to The First Presbyterian Church Mission Team fund.