Glenn Sams

Glenn Sams of Asheville, NC died peacefully early Tuesday morning, March 4, 2014, just short of his 94th birthday. He was born in the Grapevine community of Madison County in 1920, and in 1941 married the now late, Bertie Boone Sams, his teenage sweetheart, also of Grapevine. He is survived by a daughter, Samantha Salvadorini of Lexington, NC, and a son Chuck Sams, of Atlanta, GA; three grandchildren, Diana McSpadden, Lisa Salvadorini Cascardo, and Kimberly Salvadorini; and four great-grandchildren Harper, Boone, Miikko and Gemma. Glenn had a remarkably varied life, and was fond of saying, "I've had a good life." During his early adulthood, he worked as an Idaho ranch hand, a carpenter constructing World War II military barracks, a machinist building World War II Rolls Royce aircraft engines, a driver for the popular Smokey Mountain Touring Company, and a machinist/designer for the Toledo Engineering Company. As a skilled carpenter and draftsman, he was responsible for constructing over 40 homes in the Asheville area. However, Glenn was most notably known as a 36 year veteran of the Asheville Fire Department, retiring as Captain in 1983. He then went on to become the Master Carpenter restoring and creating beauty at the Asheville landmark Grove Park Inn. He was a Master Mason and past Grand Regent of Royal Arcanum. He enjoyed square dancing, trading guns and knives, and hunting. He will be missed. Funeral services will be in the Patton Ave. chapel of Groce Funeral Home at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday March 8, 2014. Interment will follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, with a reception to follow at West Asheville Baptist Church on Haywood Ave. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Friday at Groce Funeral Home, Patton Ave. In lieu of flowers you may choose to make a donation to either the Firefighters of North Carolina www.ncfirefightersfund.org/donate.php, or to CarePartners Hospice www.carepartners.org/foundation.html.