LONGTIME AAU VOLUNTEER SAMUEL GIAMBELLUCA PASSES

Longtime AAU volunteer Samuel Giambelluca passed away at home in Poplar Bluff, Missouri on Sept. 7 surrounded by his family. Sam was the National Chair of the AAU Junior Olympic Games Track and Field program for 16 years and hosted the national meet in 1966, 1972 and 1974. He was Co-Director of the first AAU / USA Junior Olympic Games National Basketball Championship held in Poplar Bluff and received a 25-year service pin from the AAU in 1992.

Sam graduated from Poplar Bluff High School in 1946. The start of Sam’s shoe career began with Bob Evans Shoe Store in downtown Poplar Bluff, which he later purchased. He also opened a second location named Sam’s Shoes in Valley Plaza Shopping Center. He was a lifelong member of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

On February 2, 1954, he married Judy Perry of Bloomfield at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Poplar Bluff. She survives.

Other survivors include his 5 daughters: Denise Giambelluca of Elizabethtown, KY, Teresa Salyer and husband Clinton of Poplar Bluff, MO, Elaine Guthrie of Fort Collins, CO, Mary Glasgow and husband Wayne of Chickasha, OK and Angee McDaniel and husband Scott of Columbia, MO.

Seven Grandchildren: Glenn Petersen Jr and wife Alaena, Amy Weigand and husband Aaron, Emily Thurman and husband Bryan, Sam Bartmess and wife Octavia, Perry Salyer and fiancé Amelia Shell, Derek McDaniel and Justin McDaniel.

Six Great Grandchildren: Warren and Price Thurman, Imogen Bartmess, Robert Weigand, Sam Petersen and Ulysses Bartmess.

Sam’s passions in life included his family, his many friends and the City of Poplar Bluff. He was an avid sports enthusiast and a big supporter of all things sports in Poplar Bluff, including the AAU.