To many he was known as Sam Soda, but to me he was Papa. There will never be enough words to describe the amount of pride I have to have such an amazing man's blood running through my veins. A since of great Italian pride in which was very important to my grandfather. 
 He was born to Jenny and Tony Soda in 1939 in a little house on Jackson Street near downtown Des Moines. He was the middle of 3 children, his sister Joesphine who was the oldest and Danny who was the youngest. From the beginning he was a special boy from stories ive heard from my Nana. My Papa was the craftiest and most intellegent person. He saved everything, never wanting to get rid of things because he could come up with ideas of things to make out of the most random things. Theres stories about him sleeping out on top of the roof of the house he grew up in and hiding money in the wall paper in his room so nobody, such as his siblings could ever find it. To this day there is a jar with trinkets and money burried somewhere in the backyard of his sisters house which is also the house they all grew up in. 
Somewhere along the line, he met my grandma, Marilyn who blessed him with 4 beautiful daughters, the youngest being my mother. They lived in Creston for a few years when they first were married and later moved to Des Moines in Greenfield Plaza where my grandmother still lives today, more then 43 years later.
Growing up I spent a lot of time with my Papa and Grandma. He was probably the best cook I've ever seen. He could make anything out of whatever random things were in the fridge and you would be amazed at how good it was. He had worked as a chef at the downtown Younkers for over 10 yrs before it closed and he was laid off. He later started his own business where he ran a small food business, "Saverios," which is Itailan for Sam's, that was ran by him and my grandma, where we all helped work. He had a giant food stand at the Greenfield Auction every late September where we would work all weekend, but loved every minute of it. He also had a trailer that we served food at the Italian Festival every August. Him and my grandma also had two small trailers in which they would sell food as vendors at Nolan Plaza Downtown for a very long time. All of these were done until about two years before his death, which was right after we found out he was sick. He also was a very highly skilled craftsmen and carpenter. He could build and fix anything with his two hands. We all used to joke around and say if Papa couldnt fix it, nobody could because he was that talented. He could build anything, he built sheds and fences and beautiful light fixtures out of PVC pipes, This man was simply amazing. 
He was an active person in the Italian-American community. He was a member of the Men's Club at the Italian-American society as well as a former Knight of Columbus member. He was known by many people and loved because of his genuine good heart. There wasnt a person who didnt know my grandfather who didnt absolutly love him.
He was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer in August of 2008, he went through chemo and radiation that fall in hopes of shrinking the cancer. That Christmas our family got the best news ever, he was cancer free, which was a lot to celebrate. He went months of getting himself back to normal and feeling great, until the spring. Around April/May he had been sick with a cold and couldn't get better, so a trip to the doctor ended with him back in the oncologists office where we were once again faced with a heartbreaking diagnosis. The cancer was back and had spread throughout his chest cavity. While this news was absolutly mind blowing we were once again faced with the greatest obsticle which was to get him treated and back to health, little did we know, this was the beginning of a downward slide in his health. Throughout the summer he had recieved several rounds of chemo and different kinds of treatment. Slowly over the summer months he declined, he was in the hospital several times before the doctors finally said that we should look into home-care. August of 2009 came and he was deteriorating fast. The oncologist suggested that we look into home hospice and that we should start preparing ourselves for the worst. 
As things quickly progressed from bad to worse his last request was a giant birthday party for him for his last birthday. So the first weekend of that September we had a party with all his close family and friends and celebrated the amazing man he was. less then a month later, he was unfortunetly taken from us on October 1st around 3pm surrounded by his 4 children and their husbands, mother, sister, wife, and me.
That day the world stood still as I watched my Papa take his last breath and I watched someone I loved so much fade away. So much anger and confusion went through all of our minds and that was the day that our lives would drastically change forever. 
There is not a day that goes by that I dont think of him and miss him. Even sitting here as I write this, I find myself in tears. Three years have passed and the pain hasnt faded one bit. A broken heart has replaced everyone whose lives he touched throughout his life in which can never be mended. But behind every tear is a memory that fills my heart full of joy and hope of seeing him again someday, and knowing that no matter what I'll always be his Nan and those memories get me through the rough days.

love and miss you Papa
Nan