Sammie O. Legreid

BLAIR, WI - Samuel "Sammie" Oliver Legreid, 99, went home to his Lord and Savior on Tuesday, November 25, 2014, at the Grand View Care Center in Blair, Wisconsin. He was born May 6, 1915, to Ole Svenson and Helen (Herreid) Legreid on the family farm, rural Blair, and baptized and confirmed at the Norwegian Lutheran Church of North Beaver Creek. He was the family's middle child with two older sisters, Evelyn and Hazel, and two younger brothers, Archie and Ralph. As a youngster he drove his siblings to the Hegg School by horse and sleigh/wagon. He was a student in Blair High School in 1929 when his father died unexpectedly of a blood clot following surgery; it was the eve of the great stock market crash. At age 14, the eldest son, he left high school and took the helm at the family farm where he farmed continuously for the next 75 years.

On June 12, 1940, he was united in marriage to Gladys Lindberg of rural Melrose. Together they ran a dairy, beef, and cropping operation, including tobacco, first with horses, and eventually with modern equipment. They were the parents of four children, Joanne and David, who did not survive past birth, and Sheldon and Ann Marie. They also hosted beloved nephews and nieces for summer adventures on the farm. He was preceded in death by his wife (1992) and siblings and is survived by Sheldon, on the home farm (Kay), and Ann Marie of Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

Sammie served on the Franklin township and church boards, delivered children by carry-all to the Hegg School, sang bass in the church choir (and in the fields), and was a life-long proponent of education at all levels. He loved to walk the hills and fence lines, count the cattle, and monitor the growth of the grain and alfalfa. For many years he led threshing and corn harvest crews and worked with his neighbors to cut and stack wood for winter. In addition to his enjoyment in talking to neighbors and friends, he enjoyed music, especially the Lutheran hymns, reading the newspapers, and competitive sports. In the last decades of his life, he wrote a century of memoirs. Great was his humor, solid was his faith, blessed be his memory.

Services will be held at the North Beaver Creek (brick) Lutheran Church on Saturday, November 29 at 11 a.m., Pastor Liz Albertson officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Friends may call at Jack Funeral Home, Blair, from 4-7 p.m. Friday and at the church from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday. The family requests that memorials be designated for the North Beaver Creek Lutheran Church, W10767 CTH C, Ettrick, WI, 54627, or a charity of the donor's choice.