Sam W Friia

He was born November 28, 1930 in Kinderhook, Michigan to Peter and Wava Friia. The son of an Italian immigrant, Sam grew up during the depression with stability but few conveniences. In his 90 years, Sam saw the world change in incredible ways. In his younger days Sam was delivering milk by horse-drawn wagon for Haven Hills farms. In his last days, he was FaceTiming, investing, emailing, and travelling. And every day in between, Sam lived life to the fullest in a way most people only talk about.

Sam was an entrepreneur at heart. His first business was in his boyhood— a partnership with his best buddy at the time, Crokee (Marvin Hull), gathering corn cobs left over from the local mill and selling bags of them for $0.05 apiece as fire-starters.

At 15, Sam decided he wanted to join the Army. When he was unable to slip his fudged birth certificate past the recruiter, Sam went to the local clerk’s office and sweet-talked his way into getting a draft card without presenting proof of his age. As Sam said, “I took the draft card to the recruiter, he looked at it, signed me up, put me on a bus, and the rest is history.” During his service, Sam was a part of the occupying force in Japan. Sam valued his time in the service greatly and credited it for his life’s trajectory.

When Sam was a kid his dad treated him to a $3 plane ride; it inspired in him a love for flying. And when Sam got out of the Army, the first thing he did was use part of his GI bill to take flight lessons, eventually obtaining his pilot’s license and enjoying many years of flying.

It was at this time that Sam also discovered a love for hunting. He hunted all over the U.S., including hunting bear alone in the Alaskan bush for several days at a time. He always ate what he hunted and hosted annual wild game dinners for many years for friends and family.

Not long after leaving the Army, on a whim, Sam went to Chicago with some friends to check out a two-year radio school course. Thanks to his GI bill, he ended up completing the course and opening his own tv repair shop, Friia-Meisterheim TV & Appliances, which at one point happened to operate in the same location his father once owned a tailor shop. After over a decade in business, Sam decided he wanted to go to law school. He attended Albion College and the Detroit College of Law. After law school Sam worked for Legal Aid, then the Prosecutor’s Office. But for most of his working life, Sam ran his own law practice in a building in downtown Albion that once stood where the new Courtyard Marriott hotel now stands.

It was around this time Sam discovered his love for golf. And like all things Sam loved, golf became another adventure. He golfed some of the best courses all over the U.S. and in Scotland, Spain, Portugal, and more. He shared his love of golf with his great-grandsons, bravely hosting up to 4 at a time for overnights so they could attend golf camp at Duck Lake Country Club, where he was a member for over 70 years.

Sam was a member of the Pine River Bar Association, a group that rafted or canoed over 40 rivers, many of them multiple times, in over 25 states, and even as far as Central America. Sam travelled the world until the very end of his life. Long after the age most people give up exploring and eating elaborate dinners, Sam was travelling, hiking, exploring rivers, ziplining, and dining. Sam also cared greatly about the communities in which he lived. He was a member of the Elks and the Leisure Hour Club in Michigan and volunteered his time to help others in Florida every year. He recently earned an award for 5 years of service with Habitat for Humanity in Florida.

But Sam’s greatest adventure was the family he left behind. He was married to Patricia Maddux and raised four children with her before their divorce: Linda Culbertson, Susan Solis, Laura Friia (Mark Rice), and Peter (Mary Jo) Friia. Sam was a devoted grandfather to his twelve grandchildren: Kam (Kathy) Culbertson, Kyle (Karen) Culbertson, Amanda (Ernie) Himes, Kory Yahnka, Sam Friia (Chelsea Marsh), Taylor Friia, Joaquin (Melissa) Solis, Ashley (Norm) Payne, Adrienne Solis-Sherman (Derek Sherman), Alexandria (Joseph) Solis-Mullen, Anthony Solis, and Aliyah Solis. And he was a doting GG to his 18 great-grandchildren.

Sam always remembered the important things. He remembered every birthday with a gift and a call to sing every line of “Happy Birthday,” not just for his children and grandchildren, but for all 18 great-grandchildren too, every year, without fail. But his love was not one of annual obligation. Sam took a deep, intentional, personal interest in each member of his family, and he had a way of making each one of us feel special. He was the grandparent who always showed up, for graduations, grandparent’s day, school plays, birthday parties, and on and on. He was also inimitably generous. Some of our best memories with him are the trips he took us on to see the world and spend time as a family, whether it was camping by the Kalamazoo River on his land or flying to Italy to spend time with our beloved Italian family.

And true to his nature, Sam never stopped adventuring; when he was 80 he met the love of his life, Helen Greene. His grandkids have often remarked that Helen made Sam like a love-sick teenager, and we are so happy that Helen will always be a part of our family.

Sam left this world on Friday, September 3, 2021 as he always wanted to— quickly and surrounded by love. Our hearts ache with the absence of him. But we are forever touched by the innumerable memories he gave us and comforted knowing his was an adventure well-lived.

“The good Lord knows I have made more mistakes than my share. But looking back there is very little about my life I would change.” -Sam Friia 2/13/2021

Sam’s children would like to give particular thanks to Sam’s granddaughters, Adrienne Solis-Sherman and Amanda Himes, for the care, medical expertise, and advocacy they gave to their Grandpa in his final hours.

A private family memorial will be held, as Sam requested. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to the American Cancer Society or to Oaklawn Hospice in Sam’s memory.