Samuel Curtis Winzler
Sam Winzler was a husband, father, grandfather and a pilot. Sam would like to remind the community that he never crashed an airplane while he was flying it.
Samuel Curtis Winzler, 70, of Moses Lake, Wash., passed away Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, from melanoma.
Sam was born Aug. 27, 1954, to Arthur Sidney Winzler and Sherrill Ruth Jeppsen in Portland, Ore.
He graduated from Moses Lake High School in 1972 and earned a degree in aeronautics and business from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. He returned home to Moses Lake to begin a long career in crop dusting throughout the Columbia Basin. Sam loved to fly and started logging hours at the age of 14, but a devastating crash in 1995 ultimately brought his flying career to an end several years later. In addition to flying, he loved cars and operated a car lot for many years. Sam also operated Winzler Vehicle Licensing, alongside his wife, Char, and daughter Tessa, from 1981 until his passing.
Sam was very outgoing and had many friends, from the morning coffee guys to a dinner group of couples who have known each other for years, to friendships that stretch back to elementary school. Sam was always eager to help friends and strangers alike. He always reached out a hand, foraging furniture for a family after a home fire, helping friends and family move, finding or providing lodging or transportation for folks in a bind, and more. He was always on the go. He always had an opinion ready to expound or a great story to tell.
Sam was preceded in death by his parents and by his beloved wife, Char.
He is survived by his children Allen Winzler (Laura), Les Tuck (Emily), Ryan Winzler, and Tessa Winzler (Richard Simpson), nine grandchildren and his sisters Ann Cude and Susan Austin; and many families and friends connected over time.
The family extends deep thanks to Assured Hospice, End of Life Washington, and the doctors and volunteers who helped Sam through a peaceful end.
Sam’s memorial service will be held at Grace Harvest Church, 313 Fig Street in Moses Lake at 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. The family will receive friends afterward at 4 p.m. at the Northwest Ag hangar at 12409 Rd 7 NE in Moses Lake.
The family is so grateful to each of you for coming to remember Sam with us and appreciate the memories you might share at the joyful reception. Sam would like to remind us all that he never crashed an airplane while he was flying it.