Samuel Claire Wood Sr., 83, of West Deer Township, passed away Saturday at the Good Samaritan Hospice in Concordia surrounded by his loving family.

He was born Dec. 18, 1932, in West Deer, where he was a lifelong resident. Sam married his beloved wife, Joan Skurka, Aug. 4, 1956, at St. Victor Church. He was a 1950 graduate of West Deer High School.

Sam, a U.S. Army veteran, served during the Korean War. He was a supervisor at Railway Maintenance Corp., later PORTEC, for 40 years. He also worked for the Deer Lakes School District before he retired. Sam looked forward to retirement breakfast gatherings with all his work buddies.

He was a past president of the West Deer Little League Association, in which he also coached for many years. Sam enjoyed watching his grandchildren compete and succeed in music and sports. He was an avid fan of Penn State, the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates. His pastimes were reading, hunting, going to camp and working in his yard. His greatest love was spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren.

One of the most important lessons we learned from his life was how he never said a negative word about anyone. He will always be remembered as a loving and caring husband, father, grandfather and friend.

Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Joan Skurka Wood; his four sons, Samuel (Monica) Wood Jr. of Sarver, Douglas (Kathy) Wood of Butler, Roger (Wendy) Wood of Richland and Daryl (Nicki) Wood of Pittsburgh; his foreign exchange student who he considered a son, Sven of Germany; seven grandchildren, Allyson (Jamison) Dohn, Ryan, Harrison, Kevin, Dylan, Kory and Evan; and his three brothers, David (Tina) Wood of Saxonburg, Jerry (Lillian) Eversole of West Deer and Richard (Pat) Eversole of West Deer.

Sam was preceded in death by his parents and his son, Aaron Wood.

WOOD — Friends of Samuel Claire Wood Sr., who died Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016, will be received from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the SIWICKI-YANICKO FUNERAL HOME, 23 McKrell Road, Russellton, West Deer, where a blessing service will be conducted at noon Wednesday with the Revs. Charles Speicher and Robert Henry officiating. He will be laid to rest in the Our Lady of Hope Cemetery at Frazer Township.View obituary online and leave condolences at www.siwicki-yanickofh.com.