Samuel David See
May 13, 1915 – October 15, 2011
Samuel David See, 96, passed away peacefully Saturday night, October 15, 2011, at his Bainbridge Island home. A thoughtful, gentle and creative man with a wonderful sense of humor, he was fully engaged in living up to the very end. He will be keenly missed by all who knew him.
Sam was known to his family and friends as a Renaissance man. His professional life was as a mechanical engineer, but he was also a superb gardener, woodworker, photographer, winemaker, and with his wife Jean, a world traveler. He was interested in everything, and loved to design and build useful things, such as a hot-water heating system for his greenhouse; a system of pulleys to lift kayaks overhead in a garage; and a storage system for wine carboys that operated with a roller blade. In the 1980s, he built a cherry wood Celtic harp for Jean. Sam made award-winning wines since 1969, most recently with his son-in-law Alfred Kitching, and auctioned off dozens of bottles of “Skiff Point Cellars” in September to benefit the gardens at Chatham Cove, where he lived.
Most important to Sam was his family. Sam married Jean Phillips Carter of Chico, WA, in 1943 in Tacoma. The couple raised their three daughters in Seattle, then moved to Boise and finally to Spokane, where he retired from Standard Oil. They lived in Spokane for 31 years before moving to Poulsbo in 2002. Sam and Jean moved to Bainbridge Island in 2004, where their daughters Janet See and Katherine Kennedy live with their husbands, Bill Reddy and Al Kitching. A third daughter, Emily Wilson, passed away in December 2008 after a long battle with multiple sclerosis. Jean passed away in April 2006.
Sam loved spending time with his grandchildren Megan Kennedy of Seattle; Sam Reddy of Bainbridge Island; Ian Wilson of Vancouver, B.C.; and Dr. Jessica Kennedy-Schlicher and grandson-in-law Dr. Nathan Schlicher of Gig Harbor. He was completely smitten with his great-grandchildren, David (2 ½) and Juliette Schlicher (10 months).
Sam received an electrical engineering degree from Georgia Tech. After graduation, he was a Commissioned Officer (First Lieutenant) in the Navy, which sent him to MIT to study naval architecture and marine engineering. After working for the Puget Sound Naval Shipyards for six months, he was assigned to the Supervisor of Ship Building Office in Tacoma. He worked there as a ship construction superintendent, approving or disapproving plans for aircraft carriers.
After the war, he was employed as an engineer by Standard Oil Company, where he spent his entire working career. He assisted in the design and construction of the first jet fueling system at SeaTac Airport in 1948, for United Airlines. Sam spent much of his time in Alaska with Standard Oil between 1948 and 1968, supervising construction of wharfs, warehouses, pipelines, and service stations. He often traveled on bush piloted planes to remote parts of Alaska, and after the devastating 1964 earthquake there he worked day and night to help restore fuel supplies.
Although he suffered from Parkinson’s Disease, Sam was lucid to the end and never was heard to complain. His last words were: “I love you all.” A celebration of his life, with songs, stories, Sam’s wine, and (of course!) ice cream, will be held at Grace Episcopal Church, 8595 NE Day Road at 3 p.m. on Saturday, November 19th.
Donations in Sam’s name can be sent to The Union Gospel Mission in Seattle. Sam’s family would like to express their heartfelt thanks to Sam’s devoted and loving caregivers, and to Dr. Hurlow and the staff at the Doctor’s Clinic.
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