Stephen Alton "Sam" McDaniel

Stephen Alton "Sam" McDaniel, 56, of McPherson, KS, passed away at 10:55 p.m., Friday, January 14th, 2022 at McPherson Hospital, McPherson County.
Stephen was born in Roanoke, VA on December 26, 1965, a son of Lucille Grace (Hamstead) McDaniel, of St. John, Kansas and Alton Leigh McDaniel.
Sam grew up in the Church of the Brethren where his dad was a Pastor. He attended the Staunton, Virginia schools, and graduated from Quinter High School, Quinter, Kansas in 1984. The auto restoration program at McPherson College is what brought Sam to McPherson where he attended the program for only one year, but that set in stone his lifetime love for cars and anything mechanical.
Following his education, Sam worked as mechanic at the K-mart Auto Shop where he and Malea met. In 1990 when K-mart closed their doors, his career path led him to Keystone Railway where he was a Robotic Welder Technician for a couple years before starting his career with Sanofi in approximately 1993. Sanofi went on to become Abbott Laboratories and Hospira and we now know it as Pfizer. He would spend the next 25 years there before leaving in 2020. He currently was working for the McPherson Y.M.C.A.
Stephen Alton "Sam" McDaniel was united in marriage to Malea Kubin Studer on October 11, 1987. The young couple established their first home together in an 1880's Victorian farmhouse north of McPherson. Sam adopted Malea's son, Michael and the couple were blessed with the addition of a daughter Amanda. They were married for 17 years before being divorced.
Sam was a natural born mechanic, getting that from his mother's side of the family, and could fix just about anything from cars to clocks to pinball machines as well as multimillion dollar pharmaceutical equipment. But that was not his only natural talent. Sam was also an excellent carpenter and repurposer. Sam had an old soul and had an eye and love for anything old that still had life in it. The 1880's Victorian farmhouse he and Malea bought is where many projects and much manpower went into restoring that beauty and building his shop which showcased all his interests and hobbies. One of Sam's proudest moments was when he became a pilot and bought his own personal airplane. Those were some of his best times of life. He and another pilot friend actually flew solo to Osh Kosh to attend one of the biggest annual fly in events. It was a lifetime dream that he fulfilled. Another great adventure was restoring an old postal jeep into an ice cream truck. Although it was a short lived hobby, it gave him great pleasure to see excited, happy children waving $1.00 bills at him. You may have seen it driving around or at McPherson events. He called it Polar Pete's Frozen Treats.
He is survived by his children, Michael McDaniel & family, of Concordia, Missouri and Amanda Moors and family, of Louisburg, Kansas; his mother, Lucille McDaniel, of St. John, Kansas; his sisters, Rebecca McDaniel, of St. John, Kansas, Joy Rowe and husband Bob, of Milford, Delaware, and Leigh Roberts and husband Jay, of St. John, Kansas. He is also survived by three grandchildren; other relatives and a host of friends.
Sam was preceded in death by his father, Alton McDaniel.
A Celebration of Life come and go will take place at a later date and will be announced closer to time.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to McPherson County Humane Society or the McPherson College Restoration Program and they can be sent in care of the Glidden - Ediger Funeral Home; 222 West Euclid Street; McPherson, Kansas 67460.