Samuel Sparks Obituary

Samuel Lawrence Sparks III, 86, known to many as simply "Sam" passed away after long battles with pneumonia and other health issues. His immediate family and close cousins were with him when he quietly slipped away during the early morning Saturday sunrise that started the Memorial Day weekend.

Sam was born August 19, 1927 in Memphis, Tennessee to Aurealia and Samuel L. "Larry" Sparks, Jr. He was an only child but grew up among many friends and relatives in the Memphis area. His father was an innovative engineer for Otis Elevator and often took Sam to the jobsites which would later inspire him pursue a career as a successful architect.

Sam was a World War II Veteran. He earned his Eagle Scout award at the age of fifteen, and in 1945 at the age of seventeen, Sam enlisted in the US Marine Corps after his mother granted permission on the condition that he "never start smoking cigarettes." He was deployed to Tientsin, China from June 1946 to July 1947, where he served to decommission and demolish a former Japanese POW camp. While sitting on the deck of the transport ship headed towards China, he started smoking a pipe - not cigarettes - which went on to be his signature trait throughout the remainder of his life. He was qualified as a Rifle Sharpshooter, Carbine Sharpshooter, and Browning Automatic Rifle Marksman. His occupational specialty was Heavy Duty Truck Operator. Sam was honorably discharged from the Marines in 1947 with the rank of Private First Class.

He attended the University of Arkansas and while there joined the Army ROTC. He graduated in 1954 with a degree in Architecture and as a Fully Commissioned First Lieutenant in the Army Reserves. He relocated to Colorado Springs in 1954. Sam spent the next twenty-plus years with the architecture firm of Bunts & Kelsay, and finished his career after working for the next fifteen or so years at Lusk & Wallace Associates. He was instrumental in the design and construction of public, private and commercial landmarks including Wasson High School, Penrose Hospital, Masonic Center of Colorado Springs, First Methodist Chapel and many others. He specialized in hospital additions and renovations.

His passions were skiing, swimming, and fly fishing. In retirement he devoted his time to the VFW and the Marine Corps League. He served as Sr. Vice Commander and Post Commander of VFW Post 4051. Sam took special care to attend over a hundred funerals as a member of the Marine Corps League bereavement team.

He met MaryAnn, his true love and wife of 42 years high on the ski slopes of Pikes Peak. They became certified members of the National Ski Patrol, and together the two of them patrolled the slopes and taught beginners to ski nearly every weekend during the next ten years at the Pikes Peak Ski Area until it closed in 1984.

Sam is survived by his stepson Karl (Mitzi) Nicoletti; grandson Christopher (Courtney) Nicoletti; and his cousin Richard "Dick" (Pat) Lackmond.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Aurealia and Samuel L. "Larry" Sparks, Jr.; his stepson, Frank "Frankie" Nicoletti; and his wife MaryAnn Catherine Sparks.

Sam has chosen cremation with no viewing.

A memorial service and celebration of life will be held at 1:00PM, Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at the VFW Post 4051, 430 E. Pikes Peak Avenue. A pot-luck reception will immediately follow at the VFW.