Today my Dad would be 79 years old if he were still here today.  It still seems so young to me for being a Meddaugh.  His parents lived well into their 90s.  I should have had another 15-20 years with him.  But I don't.  So today I am thinking about him and having a hard time thinking of anything else.  Today he probably would have been with friends with a tasty dessert he made himself.  Or at least that's what I think he would have done.  Truthfully, I haven't actually spent many birthdays with him.  But, we all know what a fine baker he was.  So, please enjoy a home-baked dessert in honor of him.  He would have liked that.

Oh, I almost forgot his love of wine!  I know giving up wine due to his illness was hard, so be sure to indulge in a glass to toast him on his birthday.  

Author: Lynne Meddaugh

My dad was a driving force in my life and a good friend to others.  I'm hoping this page will provide details you may not have known and that we can all celebrate Sam's life together.  This is my perspective as Sam's youngest daughter and mom to his youngest grandchild, Dylan.  I hope others will feel comfortable adding more chapters.     

Sam was born in Southampton, NY on May 23, 1936.  He was the oldest of 3 children with his sisters Joan and Gail.  The kids were all refered to by their middle names, so until his young adult years, Sam was known as Alan.  It was only as he became an adult that he switched to Sam.  He's also referred to by Grandpa Sam, Grandpa and of course, Dad.   

My Dad grew up in the small towns of West and East Hampton on the Atlantic Ocean in Long Island, New York.  He enjoyed swimming in the salty sea so much that he complained as an adult that the fresh water in Minnesota was too bland.  He did well in school and graduated from East Hampton High School as validictorian, despite his father being the principal.  He drove a laundry delivery truck for a summer job during his youth and one day delivered directly to Marilyn Monroe when the maid had the day off.  He says he took it in stride. After high school, he headed off to Iowa State University to study engineering, which is also where he met my mom.  Four years later he moved to Minnesota with a degree in Electrical Engineering, a new wife and a job at Univac.  He would work at Univac (Sperry/Unisys) for 40+ years; the only professional job he ever held.

As a young professional, he bought a house in Highland Park and started a family.  Anne was born in 1960 followed by Scott in 1963.  Unfortunately Scott only lived for 2 days.  The sadness felt by my parents at the loss of Scott affected them til the days of their own deaths.  But, the family continued to grow with the adoption of Mark in 1964.  I came 4 years later.  As the family grew, we also had the joy of experiencing the world in our own living room with our 5 exchange students.  They came from Costa Rica, Belgium, France, Chili and Denmark and most stayed with us for a year.  I imagine they had some influence on our shared love of world travel.  My parents both loved the outdoors and passed down that love to us kids.  Every year my Dad built a backyard ice rink and together the family would cross-country ski in the winter and camp in the summer. 

Unfortunately the marriage did not last and my parents divorced in 1979.  Dad moved to Eagan where he could walk to work and ski out his back door in the rolling farmland and woods.  He discovered the Northstar Ski Touring Club where he made many friends and had lots of adventures locally and afar. His outdoor passion really took off then with backpacking, skiing, and kayaking.  Eventually he added orienteering to that list as well when he joined the Minnesota Orienteering Club.  He made many friends in both clubs.

In 1988, Dad married again and bought the house where he would live out his days.  His wedding took place in the backyard with his many friends joining us for a champagne brunch.  He continued to live an active life for the next 3 years with Kristen by his side, but this marriage ended as well.  Dad returned to the single life, but was never lonely.  His many friends and activities kept him busy.  One of his favorite events was spending Thanksgivings at Paul Smith's house in Ely where I happily joined him one year. 

Throughout the years, Dad's family continued to grow and change.  He became Grandpa to Megan, Ashley, Lauren, Dylan and Jonathon and Great Grandpa to Hunter.  He loved his role as Grandpa and often took his grandchildren to Children's Theater shows.  He had actually just purchased tickets for us to see The Grinch this Christmas and told me "Now you have to come".  Of course I wouldn't have missed it if he were here.

Dad's active years waned as his parents aged.  He spent several years traveling often to East Hampton to help take care of them.  His parents lived well into their 90s, so Dad spent a lot of time back home.  During this time and after his parents' death, his relationship with his sisters grew stronger.  In his later years he was able to do some traveling with them which I know was important to him. 

Dad was always a very active man and I often said he was in better shape than me.  But sadly, his energy and health started to tank in 2012.  After a year of suffering from energy loss and not getting any answers, he was finally diagnosed with Cardiac Amyloidosis.  This is a very rare disorder that attacked his heart. He was on weekly, low-dose chemo treatments, but he continued to decline.  In true Sam fashion, he didn't let on how difficult life was getting for him. He lived about 6 months after his diagnosis and died peacefully in his home.  Dad was not the kind of guy to be satisfied with nursing home life and living in a body that wouldn't perform was obviously frustrating to him.  As hard as it is to lose my dad suddenly, I imagine this is the type of quick ending he would have wanted.

The holidays and the years ahead will be difficult without him, but we have so many happy memories of time together that we can hold onto.  My Dad taught me to prioritize living life over working long hours, to be adventurous, to live life to the fullest and to always make time for friends and family.  He had a special relationship with my son, Dylan who had a similar engineering mind.  One of my favorite memories is when he bought Dylan wooden planks to build with.  Dylan would build complex structures which my Dad could not help but mess with in discreet ways.  He'd make a small change and then wait for Dylan to find it.  It always ended with Dylan hollering, "Grandpahhhh!!!!!" to which my dad would just crack up.  He loved it.  I think he loved the challenge he gave to Dylan as much as the joke itself.  And as frustrated as Dylan would get, I think he enjoyed it too.  I'm sure most of us can imagine the laughter and the impish look he would get after playing such a trick.  That and the sharing of good conversation and adventures is what he gave me and what I will miss the most.