Samuel H. Seward

Samuel H. "Sam" Seward, age 84, of Strasburg, died Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Community Hospice House.

Born Aug. 13, 1928, in Dover, he was a son of the late Benjamin H. and Margaret C. Jones Seward. Sam graduated from Bolivar High School in 1948, and went on to serve his country honorably with the U.S. Army in the Korean War. Following his service time he returned to Tuscarawas County, and, on Jul. 25, 1954, married the former Dorothy L. Yackey in Strasburg's First Evangelical Lutheran Church. Sam was employed by the Norfolk & Southern Railroad for some thirty-eight years retiring in 1987 as a conductor.

He was a member of First Evangelical Lutheran Church, where he sang in the choir; Charles Hofer Post 522 of the American Legion, Strasburg; 40 et 8, Dover; Loyal Order of Moose, Brewster; United Transportation Union Retirees; and the A.A.R.P. Sam was a devoted family man who enjoyed vacations - especially to Mackinac Island and Sault Ste. Marie, get-togethers, and dancing in his younger days.

Sam will be sadly missed by his family, who include his wife, Dorothy; his daughter, Cindy L. Seward of Strasburg; his three sons, Samuel D. (wife, Cyndi) and Greg A. (wife, Rebecca) Seward, both of Strasburg, and Jeffrey L. (companion, Vicki Graham) of Norton; his six grandchildren, Samantha (fiance, Doug Johnson) Page, Leigh Ann, Clarence and Donald "D.J." Seward, Denaye (husband, Joe) Hagi and Jeffrey Seward; his six great-grandchildren, Molly R. Feller, Kaylynn, Brock and Emily Johnson, Noah and Emma Hagi; his sister, Thelma J. Nixon; and his nieces and nephews.

Besides his parents, Sam was preceded in death by his five sisters, Catherine Dessecker, Betty Zutavern, Nadine Clugston, Onilette Kropf and Rachel Jane Hay; and his three brothers, Robert, Benjamin and Dallas Seward.

Family and friends are invited to call at the Toland-Herzig Funeral Home & Crematory, Dover, on Tuesday (today), Feb. 26, 5 8 p.m. A funeral service will be held Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 11 a.m., in the First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Strasburg, with Pastor Karen Biggerstaff officiating. Burial will be in Grandview Union Cemetery, Strasburg, where military rites will be conducted. Following the committal, there will be a luncheon in First Lutheran's church hall. To sign an online guestbook and share a fond memory of Sam, please visit the Obituaries and Flowers link on the Toland-Herzig website.

The family suggests that contributions in Sam's memory be made to First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 211 Eighth St. S.W., Strasburg, OH 44680, or Community Hospice, 716 Commercial Ave. S.W., New Philadelphia, OH 44663.