Samuel Preston Sullins
PHOENIX – Samuel Preston Sullins met the end of his eventful life on October 29, 2021, his demise caused by COPD, exacerbated by COVID-19. He was born on December 23, 1948, in Louisville, KY, preceding by a few minutes his twin sister, Susan.
Sam was a 1967 graduate of Scottsdale High School, having finished in what he laughingly called the half of the class that made the top half possible.
Being unsure of his life aspirations, Sam volunteered for the draft, being scooped up by the U.S. Army, which sent him to basic training at Ft. Bliss, TX and to advanced infantry and airborne training at Ft. Benning, GA.
After training, he was sent immediately to Vietnam, where he joined the 173rd Airborne Infantry Regiment for a one-year tour as a team leader on a 106mm recoilless rifle crew. Sam received the Bronze Star and Army Commendation medal with the 173rd and was wearing sergeant’s stripes on his return home, having completed his two-year tour.
When he returned home, real estate was booming in the Phoenix area; so, Sam enrolled in real estate school and began a three-decade career with the peaks and valleys common in that industry. His earliest successes came in new home sales with Knoell Homes.
After gaining his broker’s license, Sam enjoyed extraordinary success in land sales, but left real estate during a lull in the business brought on by the savings and loan scandal of the 1980s.
Sam was a qualified commercial pilot and an aircraft owner.
Later in life, Sam learned carpentry and cabinet making, working with a friend to manufacture and install custom cabinets in Arizona and northern Virginia, where he lived for several years.
For two years, Sam served as a volunteer construction missionary at People of Peru Project, deep in the Amazon. His contributions there will serve generations and the youngsters he helped will never forget him.
Sam’s final life fling was as an RV gypsy, moving as a snowbird north and south with the seasons, towing his fancy pickup. His final stop was in Apache Junction, where many friends miss him.
Sam leaves behind three ex-wives, grieving more or less. He is also survived by three sisters, two brothers, a daughter, three grandchildren, eleven nieces and nephews and a passel of grandnieces and nephews.
The pup in the photo is Poppy, his Peruvian scooter-riding sidekick, left behind not by choice. Nikki, his Yorkie traveling companion has found a forever home in Idaho, according to Sam’s wishes.
The National Veteran’s Cemetery in Phoenix will be Sam’s final resting place, where a memorial service and military interment will be held early in 2022. If you want to be notified when the plans are finalized, send a request email to merchantry@aol.com.