CLASS OF 1951
Due to the pandemic there will be a private family graveside service in Osawatomie Cemetery.
Memorials are to the Shriner's Children's Hospital send c/o Eddy-Birchard Funeral Home P.O. Box 430 Osawatomie, KS 66064
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Samuel Earl Farley, 87, of Burlingame, Kansas, formerly of Osawatomie, died May 2 at Brookside Retirement Community in Overbrook, Kansas, after a brief illness.
Sam was born on April 3, 1933 in Osawatomie to Austin Witt Farley and Helen Dorothy Farley (née Rothe). He grew up in Osawatomie and graduated from Osawatomie High School in 1951.
Well-liked at Osawatomie High School, Sam was involved in numerous activities and sports, serving as Class President and selected “Most Popular” in his graduating class. He played his favorite sport, baseball, for the American Legion as a second basemen. Before the Kansas City Royals, Sam’s favorite team was the Brooklyn Dodgers and their all-star shortstop, “Pee Wee” Reese.
After high school he joined his father, Austin, at the Missouri Pacific Railroad Shop in Osawatomie for a short time before joining the United States Air Force. A veteran of the Korean Conflict, Sam was a tail gunner on a B-29 bomber crew. He completed 47 missions in his career—primarily spy missions over China and the Soviet Union.
After the Air Force, Sam attended Baker University but graduated from Pittsburg State University with a Bachelor of Science in Education. Ever good with his hands, Sam became an industrial arts teacher in the segregated schools of Cleveland, Ohio for several years. He even had the occasion of meeting one of America’s greatest leaders, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., while teaching in Ohio.
Sam returned to Osawatomie in the mid-sixties to be nearer his ailing father, Austin, and other family. Another teaching position was elusive; therefore, Sam became a Vocational Rehabilitation Supervisor at the Osawatomie State Hospital. Sam continued woodworking activities, enjoying his work at the hospital.
While obtaining his education he met and married the former Phyllis Phifer of Paola, Kansas. To that union, Sam became a father. Sam gave his son a name incorporating both grandfathers, John Austin. The marriage ended in divorce.
Sam was active in Osawatomie and had many, many friends. He managed the Elks Lodge for a while in the 1970s. He was an avid outdoorsman who loved it all: fishing, hunting and trapping. Many of his outdoor activities included friends, among others, former Osawatomie police chief, Estel Williams. Continuing his bent toward education, he taught hunters’ safety courses in the area.
In the late 1970s Sam met his life partner, the former Ruby McCoy. Sam and Ruby were married at the Methodist Church and made their home in Osawatomie before a career change moved them to Burlingame.
Sam worked in the Day Treatment Center at the Colmery-O’Neal Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Topeka, Kansas, retiring several years ago. Retirement did not last long, however, as Sam had several part-time jobs to keep himself busy. Finally, he continued his mental health career as a Case Manager at the Elizabeth Layton Mental Health Center in Ottawa, Kansas.
Sam and Ruby were a team. You couldn’t say “Sam” without saying “Ruby” and vice versa. Burlingame became a home and their community. Sam continued a family tradition with his membership in the Masonic Lodge in Burlingame, and he also became Shriner. Sam took pride in becoming a 50-year Mason.
Sam is survived by his wife Ruby, of the home; his son, John (Lisa) Farley, grandchildren, Sam, Jack and Annie of Osawatomie; many stepchildren, grandchildren and great grandchildren; and his brother, Austin (Fae) Farley of Tacoma, Washington and their three children.