Samuel "Sam" Frank Smith

SAMUEL “SAM” FRANK SMITH, age 64 of Waseca, died in the arms of his loving wife on Tuesday, July 2, 2024 at his home, following a long fight with COPD and congestive heart failure.

Sam was born on August 1, 1959, in Fort Belvoir, VA, the third son of Gordon and Marilyn (Buscho) Smith. His father was a career military man and so their family lived in many different countries and throughout the United States. After his father’s retirement their family settled in Morristown, and Sam graduated from Morristown High School in 1977. He was united in marriage to Bonnie Hill in 1989, and they later divorced. In 2017 Sam reconnected with a girl he once knew, and he married Jamie (Claude) Kahnke on May 25th, 2018. Sam worked his whole life in the printing industry. He spent ten years employed at Brown Printing Company in the press department and thirty-four years at Berry Plastics in Mankato until his illness forced his retirement from managing their press department in 2019.

Sam was a “jack-of-all-trades” kind of guy who had a love for many activities. Being outdoors, hunting, fishing, gardening, photography, woodworking, canning, cooking, baking, riding his three-wheeler and his side-by-side, wire art, and making jewelry and gem trees from the rocks and gems that Jamie found in Arizona were among his many pastimes. Also, he would never turn down a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

Sam is survived by his wife, Jamie Smith of Waseca; children Justin (Amelia Danzer) Sutter of Waseca, Kayla (Brad Donahue) Smith of Faribault, Sierra Copp of Waseca, Samantha Strand of Waseca, and Michael (Kelsey) Kahnke of Waseca; five grandsons, Phoenix, Sean, Greyson, Hendrix, and Kolt; one more grandchild on the way; siblings, Dan (Deb) Smith of Kilkenny, Chris (Deb) Smith of Waseca, Andrew (Cheryl) Smith of Owatonna, Sara (Dave) Staley of New Richland; aunts, Diane Buscho of Mayer, Carol Little of Northfield, Rose Smith of Washington State, Jeanette Kuball of Morristown; sister-in-law, Jenni (Jami) Blake of Owatonna; step-mother-in-law, Melissa Claude of Morristown; bonus children, Jeff (Erica) Michael and Ashley (Steven) Lyons; many nieces and nephews; a beloved dog, Tazzy; and a cherished cat, Ruby. He was preceded in death by all of his grandparents; both of his parents; his parents-in-law, James and Cindy Claude; and his previous wife, Bonnie Smith.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, July 8, 2024, at the Third Street Chapel of Dennis-Steffel-Omtvedt Funeral and Cremation Service in Waseca, with Rev. Carl Murray officiating. Visitation will be held for one hour before the service at the funeral home.