July 3, 1918 – March 30, 2010

One of the Greatest Generation

Beloved husband of Ruby (Criner) Sams, deceased, and father of Mary Henderson, Hayden Lake, and Sharon Davison, deceased. Cherished grandfather of Dianna Henderson, Evansville, Ind.; Michelle Henderson and Susanne Henderson of San Francisco, Calif.; James Davison and Jacqueline Davison of Hercules, Calif.

JC was born in Fouke, Ark., on the family farm, the middle child of seven siblings: Bertha, Morris, John, Raymond, Vera and Wilburn. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Morris and John and sisters Bertha and Vera.

After graduation from Fouke High School in 1937, JC served two years in the Civilian Conservation Corp in Ashdown, Ark., building roads and bridges, fighting fires and clearing forests.

JC and Ruby were married in 1940 and welcomed their first daughter, Mary, in 1942. After Pearl Harbor, JC enlisted in the U.S. Army and served from July 1942 until December 1945. He was honorably discharged with a rank of sergeant. Their second daughter, Sharon, was born in 1946.

JC held different jobs after leaving the Army including long-haul truck driver in Arkansas and water pipe construction in Coachella, Calif. He eventually moved his family to Oakland, Calif., and worked 30 years as a truck driver for Garrett Freightlines. JC retired with his wife to Tracy, Calif., where he lived for 20 years before moving to Coeur d’Alene to be close to his daughter, Mary, and son-in-law, Michael Henderson.

Thank you to By the Lake Assisted Living and Kootenai Medical Center for their wonderful care.

Visitation for family and friends will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, April 2, 2010, at English Funeral Chapel, 1134 N. Fourth St., Coeur d’Alene. JC will then go home to Tracy to be buried next to his wife at Tracy Public Cemetery. Fry Memorial Chapel, Tracy, is in charge of final service and burial at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 7, 2010.

Family requests donations in his name to the WWII Memorial Trust, Washington, D.C., in lieu of flowers. Address: WWII Processing Center, P.O. Box 305, Calverton, NY 11033.

Please sign JC’s guest registry and view his online memorial at www.englishfuneralchapel.com.