Louie SAMBUCK

SAMBUCK, Louie Died on September 18, 2016 - his 101st birthday - as he lived: with quiet courage, a lively sense of humor, the affection of many friends and the love of a family to whom he devoted each day of a humble yet extraordinary life. He was born Louis A. Sambuck in Fresno, CA, to an immigrant family from Croatia. His father died when he was 13. He worked wherever he could to help support his mother and older sister Madeline. Louie had an incredible memory and kept us enthralled with stories of his youth. As a young boy, he once stood in the shadow of the family's darkened house, while his mother clutched his sister and him, warning them to stay quiet, as torch bearing members of the Ku Klux Klan marched through their immigrant neighborhood. After he graduated high school and had saved enough money, he moved to Berkeley where he went to Armstong College and earned a degree in accounting. There he developed a deep enthusiam for the Cal Bears, becoming a lifelong season ticket holder. Upon graduation, he went to work for Johns Manville in San Francisco in the years before the war. Shortly before Pearl Harbor, he met and married Margaret Henrichsen whom he had met through friends. They were happily married for 56 years, had five children and five grandchildren. In 1942, Louie enlisted in the Navy and was lucky to serve at the naval base in Alameda, After Oakland he was stationed in Waikiki until the war ended. He returned from service in the Pacific to his waiting bride sailing beneath the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco Bay on the deck of the USS South Dakota with Admiral Halsey. After returning from the war, and settling in Petaluma with Margaret and Pamela, he went to work for A.F. Tomasani Hardware, leaving there to start his own accounting firm, and then ultimately to Henris Roofing which became his lifelong career. Some years after Margaret's passing in 1998, Louie met Bobbi Dahlgren with whom he formed a deep attachment that endured through his last days. He loved her family as his own. Louie lived an uncomplicated life content in his belief that a man can hope for no more in his last moments than the love of his family and the deep, abiding comfort that a father's only real legacy lies in the character of his children and their children. Those of us who had the privilege to call him dad, or papa, those of us who pleaded with him, though knowing it was hopeless, not to drive or climb ladders, those of us who sat patiently as he would good-naturedly flirt with every kind waitress he came in contact with, those of us who saw him persevere through virtual blindness to write to friends and relatives enclosing clippings from articles he had somehow read and which he thought might bring a smile to their face, those of us saw a courageous man who, even at the end, when asked how he was feeling would answer with a wink, "Never been better in my life", we know we are better and blessed for having known him. There are not enough words to express thanks to those who were so kind, so sweet to our father. To Julie, a teller at Wells Fargo in Petaluma, who visited him in his home when he was no longer able to get out, to Topsy and Anne at Topsy's Kitchen who made every Sunday, as he said, something to live for, to every kind person in Petaluma who took a moment to listen and laugh at a joke from an old man who earnestly believed "what's the point of life if you can't laugh a little", and to Petaluma Hospice, we can only say thank you. But most importantly, we would like to express our eternal gratitude and love to his caregiver, Millie, who made his face light up with a smile each time she told him, in the Croatian language he had taught her, how well he was doing. She made him feel special and loved and safe and gave him hope during the end of his life. We can never thank her enough. Louie is survived by his children Pamela, Anne Clark (Herman), Lori Lafranchi, John, Tina Brusnahan (Steve) and his grandchildren Brian, Matthew, Rachel, Danielle and Adam, and four great grandchildren. Services will be help at Parent-Sorensen Mortuary on Friday, September 30, at 11:00 a.m. There will be a celebration of his life immediately following. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Earl Baum Center for the Blind in Santa Rosa.