Samuel E. Lasley

Samuel Elwood Lasley

February 9, 1931 – August 24, 2025

Samuel E. Lasley was born at home in 1931 in Louisville, Kentucky, the youngest of three children. He was named for the doctor who delivered him. He attended Catholic schools throughout his life, the foundation to his lifelong, abiding faith. His family struggled through the Depression, with his father supplementing his income as a boilermaker for the L.&N. Railroad by taking on wallpapering and painting jobs to support the family. He lost both his parents at the age of 21, and quickly took on the responsibilities of adulthood with work, faith, and duty solidified as the pillars of Sam's life.

He started working at the age of 13 as an after-school delivery boy at Harbold's Grocery Company, and was promoted to stock clerk, cashier and meat cutter all in one year. He began work for the Kroger Company doing anything that needed to be done at the age 14. His first promotion at the Kroger Company was to Head Produce and Stock Clerk at only 16 years old. He paid his own way through both his private Catholic High School, St. Xavier and later, college the University of Louisville. Sam graduated from the University of Louisville with a degree in English and Journalism and a minor in History, while working full time. He was offered a management position upon graduation, which began his lifelong career with the Kroger Company. He was proud of his corner office on the second floor of the Kroger building, as he had risen through the ranks as a result of his hard work, and following transfers to Shreveport, Louisiana and Atlanta, Georgia. He was promoted and transferred to the company's Cincinnati, Ohio headquarters in 1965. He retired in 1986 as Director of Inventory Control.

Sam and wife Shirley moved to Florida after retirement, fulfilling a lifelong dream. He accepted a position as one of the nation's first Grocery Diverters when that career was in its infancy, working from home. After a year of round-the-clock movement of grocery trucks around the nation, he decided he preferred retirement. They enjoyed golf, tennis, swimming, seeing shows at the Ruth Eckert Hall in Clearwater, and lived life to the fullest. Travel was an important part of their lives, with cruises being a favorite.

They traveled to islands, Europe, Australia, and Alaska, some of those trips enjoyed with their best friends and neighbors.

Sam had a beautiful tenor voice. He sang in church choirs his entire life, and even made a Long Playing 78 RPM record in high school, singing Mona Lisa and other hits of the time. One of the highlights of his youthful singing career was his appearance at Memorial Auditorium in Louisville. One thousand people were there that night to see him singing "Prisoner of Love."

Sam was predeceased by his parents, Willie Myrtle Owen and Clarence Elmer Gardner (E.G.) Lasley, as well as his brother Hubert and sister Mary Jess. He was also predeceased by his daughter, Pamela. He is survived by his children Patrick (Vicki), Deborah (Bill), Lisa (Jeff), Kathy (Eric), David and son-in-law Hank, who has always been loved as a son. He is also survived by eight grandchildren: Matthew, Tristan, Lucas, Aaron, Alex, Michael, Natalie, and Madelyn, and great-grandchildren Haley, Sydney, Riley, Sheldon, Chloe, Ella, James, Elizabeth, Marshall, Bailey, Bryce, and Brixton and great great grandson Kayson. His beloved nieces and nephews include Nancy, Steve, Dennis, Timothy, and Phillip, and the late Mary Susan.