Sammie Irby Obituary (1938

Sammie was born on September 9, 1938 to Betty and James Irby in Oak Grove, Louisiana. He grew up the youngest of 12 children. As a young boy, Sammie enjoyed fishing and playing softball on Sundays with his siblings. Sammie also spent hours in the cotton fields. Sammie left Louisiana in 1958 for Washington State. He worked on the Roza farming and drilling water wells. In March, 1960, Sammie married his soul mate, Shirley Mount, and together they made their home in Prosser. Sammie and Shirley raised five children. Sammie went to work at Welch’s Foods in 1973 and retired in 2000. He enjoyed car racing in his younger years and often took his children to the track to watch him. Sammie had nine grand-children who he enjoyed taking on overnight cat fishing trips. He also enjoyed listening to Gospel music and talking to his siblings in Louisiana. In later years, Sammie loved watching his twelve great-grandchildren play. Sammie yearned to be with his mother, whom he spoke of often. He went to be with the Lord and see his mother again on August 30, 2015. Sammie is survived by his wife, Shirley; sisters, Betty (Carey), Mary, Ercil (Roland) and RoseLee; his children, Debbie (Keith), Randy (Coleen), Ron (Tracy), Tammy (Jim) and Don (Molli); his grandchildren, Jamie, Derrick (Sarah), Kyle (Josie), Heidi (Val), Tyler (Amanda), Jimmy, Nathan, Amanda, Haley and Brian (Danielle); and great-grandchildren, Shailyn, Jordan, Logan, Dacotta, Noah, Skyla, Devin, Colby, Autumn, Kade, Thomas, Phoenix, Faith, Colton and Kennedy. Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday, September 3, 2015 at the Bethel Church in Prosser. Concluding services and burial will follow at the Prosser Cemetery. Visitation is scheduled for Wednesday, September 2 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM at Prosser Funeral Home.