March 21, 1937 - November 13, 2024
Sam passed into the presence of his Lord on November 13, 2024 after a lengthy illness with Alzheimer's disease. He was predeceased by his parents, Harold and Geraldine Wharton and his first wife, Valerie Golding. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Jackie; his daughter, Samantha (Ottawa); his younger brother, Nicholas (England), and step son Kevin (Margaret) Steeves, Mexico. He will be missed by his grandchildren, Ali (Marcus) Brown and Keith Steeves.
Sam was born in Hampstead, England. He attended his mother's Montessori School until his wounded father returned from the war. They moved to Cornwall where he attended a local school until the age of 9 and then attended 2 boarding schools before entering the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Sam received an Engineering degree from the University of London and a Master's Degree at the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham. He had postings to Wales, Germany, UN Peacekeepers in Cyprus and to the US military base, Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama for 3 years. He returned to England and retired after 2 years with the rank of Major at the age of 37.
Sam and his family emigrated to Ottawa where he worked at Computing Devices. He later worked for the Canadian Federal Government and ended his career at Treasury Board dealing with Major Crown Projects.
Sam and Jackie took early retirement and moved to South Surrey, B.C. Sam set up a consulting company and worked on a number of projects and also taught Project Management through Simon Fraser University.
Sam was very active in his church leading bible studies, working with the men's group, teaching ESL, part of the visitation group, driving senior's to appointments and volunteering at Mission Possible, Vancouver.
Sam had a great sense of humour, a very generous spirit and a zest for life. In his later years he enjoyed travelling, cycling, chamber music, reading and writing. He had two books published.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held on January 13, 2025 at 11:00 am at Victory Memorial Park Funeral Centre, 14831 - 28th Avenue, Surrey, BC.
Donations in Sam's memory can be made to the Alzheimer Society of BC, (alzbc.org) or to Nightshift Street Ministries, Surrey, BC (nightshiftministries.org)
The family wishes to offer a special thank you to the staff at Crescent Gardens for their care and compassion.
Service Details
11:00 AM