Jimmy lived in Thomaston, Ga with his wife Amber, whom he loved dearly, and spent most of his life in Georgia, except for four years of adventure with the US Navy in his youth.
Jimmy (then called Donald by most) spent his early life in Forest Park, Hapeville, and Fayetteville, Ga., leaving indelible marks on all those places as he and his brother Melvin made mischief and friends everywhere they went. All these adventures and misadventures evolved into wonderful stories told and retold for a lifetime. He joined the Navy with a group of friends from Forest Park High School at 17 and left for San Diego for a life at sea. Soon afterwards, he decided that the Navy was not for him, and he hitchhiked back home. The Navy took issue with that and found him at his Daddy’s farm in Fayetteville despite the black pepper spread by his brother to throw off the scent of the blood hounds. A Naval officer took him under his wing and convinced him that life at sea with the Navy could be far superior to life on land in the brig. He returned to a series of adventurous cruises in the Mediterranean and Caribbean on the USS Rigel, leading to an honorable discharge in 1962 and a lifetime of good stories to tell.
Jimmy loved to tell people that he met his first wife, young Patricia (Patsy or Pat) Camp of Jonesboro when she visited him in the brig. They married in 1960 just before he left the Navy. Settling in Jonesboro, they bought a home and started a family. He began working in the steam plant as a boiler operator and later as an electrician’s assistant at Grady Hospital. His son Jimmy Jr. was born in 1963, daughter Alicia in 1966, and son Patrick in 1973. Meanwhile, he worked his way all the way up to Maintenance Superintendent before he retired after more than 35 years of distinguished service at Grady Hospital. Jimmy and Pat worked hard and played hard – stretching thin budgets and long work hours to ensure that there was always time and money for weekend camping with the kids and annual trips in the ’68 Chevy pickup to Panama City Beach, a place Jimmy always thought of as a home away from home. Much of his free time went to volunteering as a Boy Scout leader. No one could make a better peach cobbler over a campfire or inspire young men like Jimmy!
Over the years, Jimmy grew into an even stronger man in body, mind and spirit, and everyone depended on him to repair anything that needed fixin’ – whether that be a lawn mower or a broken heart. Jimmy mastered the art of being both gentle and fearsome, so everyone he loved felt safe around him. From time to time, he demonstrated exactly why they should always feel that way. He was always a source of the wisest advice, an expert at giving it without the recipient knowing that he was doing so. He was tricky that way. But his advice was also often dispensed as a one liner, most famously, “Ride the bus, pay the fare.”
Jimmy and Pat decided to part ways later in life, and both went on to find their way with new loving partners.
Jimmy and Amber Watson met, fell in love and were happily married in 1987 and remained so for the rest of his life. Over the years, they surrounded themselves with friends and family on Jackson Lake. Jimmy retired from Grady at 55, but never stopped “piddlin,” fixing anything that was broken and inventing anything that needed inventing. He thrilled children and grandchildren for hours with funny stories and tubing behind his pontoon boat and sailed the sunsets with Amber. Though many tried, few were ever deemed safe enough by Jimmy to stand in for him behind the wheel of the boat (except for Amber.) He was the Captain!
In recent years, Jimmy and Amber made Thomaston their home and have spent many afternoons in the company of Amber’s large and loving family and their extensive network of friends. They mastered the art of southern cooking and hospitality and welcomed all to their table. Jimmy was a member of the Red Oak United Methodist Church in Covington.
Jimmy joins in heaven his parents Guy and Jeanette, his two sisters, Mary and Dora, his brother, Melvin and his son-in-law Aramis. Still loving him from Earth are his wife, Amber of Thomaston; his daughter, Alicia of Fayetteville, GA; his son Jim and his wife Margaret of Knoxville, his son Patrick and his wife, Amy, also of Knoxville, brothers and sisters-in-law Terri, Keith, Bentley, and Betsy of Thomaston; along with twelve grandchildren: Katie, Annie, Aren, Alexandria, Andrew, Abigail, Madesyn, Ashlin, Gavin, Colsen, Rowen, and Sullivan; two great grandchildren: Bennett and Micah along with nieces, nephews, and brothers and sisters-in-law and more friends than could be counted. His beloved ’68 Chevy pickup is as good as new and carries on his legacy from Tennessee.
Funeral services for Jimmy (Donald) Samples will be held on Tuesday, April 25, at 3:00 PM, in the chapel of Fletcher-Day Funeral Home. Rev. Dean Hemphill will officiate, and interment will follow in Upson Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Tuesday from 2:00 PM until the funeral hour.
Fletcher-Day Funeral Home of Thomaston is in charge of all arrangements.
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