Sam Wakefield

December 11, 1928 – February 8, 2013

      “It’s been a good run.”

      Sam passed away Feb. 8 of natural causes in Poulsbo. He was 84.

      He was born in San Francisco to Sam Wakefield III and Ruth Cravath Wakefield. He graduated from Lowell High School in San Francisco.

      Sam loved the outdoors. He earned his Bachelors in Forestry from the University of Montana. He fought forest fires as a Smokejumper in 1949, 1950 and 1955 at the Missoula jumper base. Sam served in the Navy at the Kodiak Naval Air Station during the Korean War.

      Sam found the love of his life, Jean, at the University of Montana as he worked on his Masters in Forestry. Sam took a ranger job with the Forest Service near Bozeman. On weekends he traveled over 420 miles round trip between Missoula and a ranger station the Gallatin Canyon south of Bozeman as he dated Jean. Sam & Jean married in 1960.

      Sam’s career took him from the U.S. Forest Service in Montana & Idaho to the Federal Water Quality Administration in Portland to the Environmental Protection Agency in Denver and Seattle. He lived on Bainbridge Island for 20 years. He & his wife moved to Poulsbo in 1996 and stayed for seven years. He longed to move back to Montana year round. They lived briefly in Spokane and Missoula before returning to Poulsbo due to health reasons.

      Fortunately Sam & Jean did some traveling before their health issues popped up. Some of their travels included England, Ireland, Scandinavia, central Europe, Mexico, Alaska and a cruise through the Panama Canal.

      Sam was preceded in death by his twin sister Elizabeth Erdman. He is survived by his wife Jean and son Stuart.

      Sam requested that he not have a memorial service.

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