Samuel Allen Darrough 1918-2012

DARROUGH GROUND WILSON

Posted By: Connie Swearingen-Volunteer (email)
Date: 7/24/2012 at 14:29:36

Sioux City Journal
February 16, 2012

Samuel Allen Darrough, of Sioux City, died at the age of 93 at home and in his own bed after a brief illness on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012.

Services will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel, with a luncheon to follow at the Elks Lodge, 1001 Tri View Avenue. Visitation will be 3 to 8 p.m. Friday, with the family present 6 to 8 p.m. and a vigil service at 7 p.m., at the funeral home. Condolences may be sent online to www.meyerbroschapels.com.

Sam was born in Kansas City, Mo., on April 5, 1918, to Rialdo and Maud (Ground) Darrough. Sam's father died when he was young; his mother remarried, and his stepfather, Edwin Meservy, helped raise Sam. Sam grew up in Kansas City, using the Country Club Plaza area as his playing ground. He graduated from the University of Missouri in Columbia in 1940, after which he became a naval aviator flying missions in the Pacific Theater through 1945. Lt. Darrough's active service ended in December 1945, but he was commissioned as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve in 1955.

During the war years, Sam married Elinor Wilson on Nov. 19, 1942. After the war, Sam became a manager/merchandiser in the grain business in various settings. He managed grain elevators throughout the Grain Belt and held a seat on the Kansas City Board of Trade. His career also took him and his growing family to Lincoln and Hastings, Neb. Elinor passed away on June 10, 1969, leaving him and his three children to grieve her loss. Shortly thereafter, Sam moved to Sioux City, his home for the last four decades of his life.

Once in Siouxland, Sam met Mickey Wulf Santi through mutual friends. They married on Sept. 1, 1972, at St. Boniface Catholic Church. They had a rich, full life together that included high highs and low lows. Through it all, they loved each other. It was at their house that family gatherings were held, Christmas dinners were served, and milestones were marked -- even the extended family that includes Mickey's much-loved in-laws from her first husband's family.

Sam was an active member of the Siouxland community. He was a very active member of Sioux City Elks Lodge 112 and was a past Exalted Ruler of the organization in 1984-85. As Sam became older and was no longer participating in all the day-to-day activities of the Lodge, younger members found many ways to make Sam and Mickey still feel a vital part of the Elks organization. In recognition of his years of service to the Elks, he received many state and local awards and honors, including Elk of the Year in 1995-96. Younger Elks members looked up to Sam as their mentor, their "substitute dad," and their friend. His presence at the Elks will be missed by many. Sam was also very active in the Sioux City SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) Chapter 104 for more than 20 years and served as its chair in 1991 and 1992. He received local, state and national awards and recognitions of his work there.

Beyond his civic work, Sam also had a strong sense of play. Sam was a solid athlete who played baseball as a catcher in a Kansas City league until he was 35. He later used those baseball skills to coach a Siouxland slow-pitch softball team in the 1970s and 1980s, the Small Insurance team. Sam made friends easily, and many of the young people with whom he interacted remained lifelong friends.

Over the years, Sam enjoyed gardening, attending Sioux City Explorer games, supporting Republican candidates (much to his wife's chagrin), rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs and besting his wife and niece at nightly Jeopardy games. Sam leaves friends and acquaintances in those towns where he lived before his final home in Siouxland. He served as a deacon at First Baptist Church in Kansas City. He was a past president of the Lincoln, Neb., Grain Exchange.

Sam Darrough's mark in this life was not through awards received or honors won, however. He had friends. He enjoyed good health until the last few months of his long and active life. He loved his wife and his family. He was a rich man in all that counted.

Sam leaves his wife of 39 years, Mickey Santi Darrough; three children, Janice "Jan" Johnson and her husband, Ralph of Arlington, Va., Mary Kathryn "Kay" Sample and her husband, Dennis of Pennsville, N.J., and Robert "Bob" Darrough of Independence, Mo.; a stepdaughter, Linda Santi of New Orleans; seven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren, one of whom was born the day before Sam died. Sam's extended family includes 11 surviving brothers and sisters-in-law; and numerous nieces and nieces on his wife, Mickey's, side. Perhaps more remarkably, Mickey's first husband's family grew to love Sam as their own, and many nieces and nephews, their children and their children's children mourn their Uncle Sam's passing.

Memorials may be made to Siouxland Hospice or to the Elks Lodge 112.

The family wishes to thank the Hospice team and many family and friends, including Jane Reynolds, who helped make Sam's last days comfortable.