Charles Mccrory

Charles Samuel McCrory January 26, 1928 -November 5, 2016. Charles (Sam) McCrory passed away peacefully on Saturday, November 5, surrounded by his loving family. He is survived by his wife of over 60 years, Rita (Tonda-Roc); his sons Tim McCrory and Morgan McCrory and his daughter Sandra Bryant (Carl); grandchildren: Kyle McCrory (Heather), Koty McCrory, Dustin Bryant and Alyson Dietz (Luke) and three great-grandchildren Janessa, Kyler and Emmett; sister, Laurel Benner (Wallace) and many nieces and nephews. Sam was born January 26, 1928 in Seattle, WA and spent the WWII years in Portland and Vancouver, but spent most of his childhood in Yakima. As a youngster, he was known to get into mischief and his grade school principal would often follow him home to make sure he made it without any distractions. As a young man, Sam worked summers for the forest service as a fire watcher, spent time working with family on a family farm in Cheney, fished, hunted and hiked around the Yakima Valley. He graduated from Yakima High School in 1946. Soon after high school, he and a close friend joined the Marines. Sam served for two years most of the time spent in Kwajalein and Pearl Harbor. He enjoyed his time in the marines and had many interesting stories. After the service, he attended WSU and completed his studies in Horticulture and then found employment at the WSU experiment station in Prosser. There, he became pen pals with a woman from Italy who was visiting the United States, Rita. After a year of writing letters, they met in person and were soon married. The couple raised three children and returned to WSU to become teachers. After teaching for many years in Western Washington, they returned to the Yakima Valley and owned and operated an apple orchard until they retired. Sam loved his family first and enjoyed a long and happy marriage to the love of his life, Rita. He loved the mountains, fishing with his sons and grandsons, farming and growing great fruit; he loved to travel and explore the world. He was an avid gardener, reader and loved his music. Most of all, he was a wonderful husband, father, brother, grandfather, great grandfather and friend to all and will be sorely missed. The family will have a private memorial in his honor. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Charles Mccrory, please visit our flower store.