Thomas Tracey

Thomas Eugene Tracey passed from this earth on Nov 26th 2020. Thomas’s Father had a habit of nicknaming everyone, and Thomas’s nickname happened to be Sam, which is why for those who knew Thomas, he was always just “Sam”. Sam was born on December 12th 1931 in Baltimore, Maryland to Thomas Edward and Ruth Lucille (Messenger) Tracey. Sam grew up in Belair, Maryland and as a young man joined the United States Army as an artilleryman. Sam was a proud Korean War Veteran. He sailed by ship to Incheon, Korea where he disembarked on a journey to defend America’s freedoms. After Sam’s enlistment was complete, he returned to Belair and went to work at Lutz Appliance Store as an appliance repairman. Sam married Loretta Yvonne Stoots and together they had two children, James Robert and Patricia Ann, before eventually divorcing. In January of 1966, Sam decided to follow his In-Laws to Tucson, Arizona and take up residence. Sam loaded up the family on an Amtrak train and rode cross country from Baltimore to Tucson. Upon arriving in Tucson, Sam was employed at Lucky’s Grocery store, and, on the side, he used his appliance repair skills as the neighborhood repairman. Back in the day, televisions could be repaired and there was always someone knocking on the door for Sam to repair their TV. Sam eventually went to work for Ralph’s North American Van Lines where he worked for many years until his retirement. He enjoyed making friends as he moved people around the world. All those years packing household goods kept Sam strong and young, and he loved sharing stories about the people he met and where they were moving. Sam married Shirley Ann Harris in 1976 and instantly gained seven additional children. Sam and Shirley went on to have a daughter, Samantha Michele in 1979. Sam would always tell people he had ten children, and he was quite proud of that fact. Sam and his family moved from Tucson to Yakima, Washington in 1997 where he resided until his death. Sam loved music and knew any song from the 1970’s. He liked to play “Name that tune” and see how many notes it would take for him to recognize a song. Sam’s first love was iced tea. In the hot summers of Tucson, he always had a gallon jug of sun tea brewing. Sam was soft spoken, kind, easy going, and, in his later years he became known as Mr. Social. He would talk to anyone about anything. Our Sam was hard working, loyal, and taught his children to have a great work ethic. He worked into his 70s just to be busy and have a social life. One of the fondest shared memories of Sam is what a cheapskate he was. He never had much money, but the family joke was that he had the first dollar he ever earned. Sam always owned a car, but it never had many miles on it because he figured he could ride the city bus much cheaper. Sam would always look for the cheapest deals no matter what he was shopping for. Sam is preceded in death by his wife Shirley, parents, sister Ruth R. (Tracey) Finnerty and brother William Leo Tracey. He leaves behind sons James Robert (Jeanine) Tracey, Dale (Kriss) Williams, daughters Patricia Ann (Tyler) Young, Samantha (John) Girard, Robin (Jay) Chevillet, Polly (Noel) Gonzalez Lizarraga, Dawn (Jay) Deaver, Misty (Ron) Fadness, Gail (Dave) Smith, and Cindy (Daniel) Vanderpoel. Sam had 25 Grandchildren and 42 Great Grandchildren. Our Sam will be missed but the memories we share will be cherished forever. This isn’t goodbye Sam, only farewell until we meet again. We love you! To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Thomas Tracey, please visit our flower store.