Sam died June 28, 1971, in a helicopter accident while working a fire in Alaska. He was born December 2, 1930, in northeast Oklahoma and attended school in Claremore. He was a sergeant in the Oklahoma Air National Guard during the 1950s.

Sam jumped at Missoula 1954, 55, 58, Fairbanks in 1962, and Cave Jct. in 1969.

Sam was working as a seasonal firefighter in Alaska when the helicopter he was in was forced down near McGrath, Alaska. He walked into the rotor blade and was killed.