SAMUEL R. PROBASCO IV,

was born to parents Charlotta D. and Samuel R. Probasco III on April 17, 1944, in Darby, Penn., a few miles southwest of City Center Philadelphia. Sam’s family had a long history in the Quaker communities of Pennsylvania, and in New Jersey, where his antecedents settled in the regions of New York and New Jersey, known as New Holland in 1653. Sam would spend much of his early life in the seashore and river towns of New Jersey, such as Beach Haven, Ocean City, Burlington, Riverton, and Edgewater Park. Sam graduated from Palmyra High School in 1963, and then journeyed with his best friend to the Arkansas Ozarks to attend the University of Arkansas. Every summer, Sam would return to New Jersey to work as a City Police Officer in the Ocean City Police Department in Cape May County, with much of his beat encompassed by the famous Ocean City Boardwalk. Sam instilled his love of the shore in his family with more than four decades worth of family vacations on the beaches of New Jersey and Florida, as well as special side trips to the beach that he would make with his wife throughout the years. After graduating college, Sam taught high school for four years in Eudora, Ark. Though he soon left teaching for a career in law enforcement, the years that Sam spent teaching US and World history, Civics, and US Government served him well throughout his life. Sam continued to be an educator, taking his children to visit sites such as Mt. Vernon, Jamestown, and Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, and Independence Hall in Philadelphia while on summer trips to New Jersey. Sam had an encyclopedic knowledge of the US Highways and could guide anyone along any route through memory alone. Sam had a long career in Drug Investigation for the State of Ark., starting as a Drug Investigator and Supervisor with the Arkansas Department of Health, before moving to the Arkansas State Police, where he served as the Unit Supervisor of the Diversion Investigation Unit, Criminal Investigation Division. Sam also served as the Director of a State and Federal Drug Diversion Investigative Unit, as well as the Narcotic Evidence Custodian for the Arkansas State Police. While with the Arkansas State Police, Sam taught Diversion seminars to classes of State Troopers. In 1996, Sam was appointed as a DEA Task Force Special Agent and he functioned in both capacities within the DEA and the Arkansas State Police until his retirement in 2009. The gravity which Sam afforded his career was balanced by the levity, with which he approached the rest of his life. Sam was voted Class Clown in high school, and was always known to be a lover of practical jokes and laughter. He was a master of a deadpan delivery, and capable of laughing himself short of breath. His humor was infectious. Sam was a great lover of animals, including bats, snakes, birds, and cats, but loved no animals more so than his series of beloved standard poodles, and his last and most fierce miniature poodle, Walker. Sam was also a great lover of cleanliness and order. His skill for organization and his disdain for dust or mess was legend. He may or may not have been observed vacuuming cat hair out of the air. His family joked that mere cleanliness did not meet his standards, a level they referred to as “sanitized.” Sam was an excellent marksman, a collector of military memorabilia, and a long-time member of the Arkansas Gun and Cartridge Collectors Club, of which he served as Club President from 1994-2001. Sam was always surrounded by music, making sure he had a small radio playing in every room. He grew up listening to Cousin Brucie, and every weekend he would tune in for Casey Kasem’s American Top Forty and Dick Bartley’s Solid Gold Saturday Nights. Sam loved and was well loved in return by his wife of nearly 40 years, his four children, and two grandchildren. Sam was preceded in death by his parents, Charlotta and Sam Probasco; and his sister, Carol. He is survived by his wife, Jean; his children, Sam (Alison), Susan (John), Missy (Wes), and Mandy (Matt); grandchildren, Peyton Elizabeth and Samuel Reid; and one sister, Patricia (Les). The family is forever grateful and expresses sincere thanks to the remarkable neighborhood friends who have helped in so many ways big and small. Friends can gather Tuesday, July 25, 2023, from 2-4 p.m. at Park on the River, 11903 Crystal Hill Road, Maumelle, Ark., 72113. A private burial will take place at a later date. Donations may be made in Sam’s name to CARE for Animals at careforanimals.org. Please visit Roller Chenal’s website to leave a favorite memory of Sam for the family. The stories will be treasured by Jean and the kids.