Obituary of Samuel Richard Posten Jr.

Samuel Richard Posten Jr. 12/23/43 - 5/13/2024
Samuel Posten Jr., who was known to all, near and far as: Pappy, Pop Pop, Uncle Sam, Junior or simply Sam, passed peacefully in his sleep during the early morning of May 13th, 2024. He was the beloved husband of Jeanne Ann Sieh Posten, father of Samuel Richard Posten III and Leslie Jean Farrell, FIL to Leslie’s husband Ed Farrell, and grandfather to Ryan, Eddie, and Katie Farrell.

Sam held many jobs over the years, including helping to build the NJ shoreline sea-wall, selling Kirby vacuums, serving as a production manager for Buck Engineering / Lab Volt Systems, acting as a mason’s assistant for Daniel Black Construction, providing office management at Sodon’s Electric, leading the Middletown Township’s recycling efforts, and filing taxes as an IRS enrolled agent, first for H&R Block then later as an independent business operating under the name “Whatever it Takes”. Many years ago Sam was invited to work at Posten’s Funeral Home but he declared he wouldn’t join the extended family’s business because he “couldn’t look sad at someone else’s expensive funeral.”  In addition to his wandering career path Sam was a dedicated parent and grandparent. He also mentored many youths as a Boy Scout advisor, baseball coach, and umpire. 

Sam was a skilled and self-taught “Do It Yourself Handyman”. He rebuilt every room in the family home, replacing all that was antiquated with new custom designs. He also cultivated gardens, designed and built home furniture, and assembled lighted holiday displays.  His garden was legendary, producing tomatoes, green beans, waxed beans, cucumbers, peppers and other produce that he loved to share with neighbors, friends and family. While his motto may have been “Whatever”, that expression never came from a place of laziness or lack of interest. He was always up for working on whatever anyone needed done, whether it was helping to cart things in his pickup truck, taxiing kids to scouting or sporting events, demolishing and rebuilding rooms and houses, or just giving advice, Sam was up for it.

Sam loved crabbing the Clay Pit Creek and fishing the Navesink River, Sandy Hook Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean. He was a lifelong hunter of birds, rabbits, squirrels and especially deer. He enjoyed being a founding member of the local sportsman’s club and a yearly guest at the Sodon family’s “Huh Hill” cabin. His biggest passion was being a member and leader of Navesink Hook and Ladder Fire Company #1.  He held many positions within the company including: president, treasurer, trustee, and fair chairman. He also ran the Country Store stand at the fair for over 40 years.  Sam was elected to be Navesink’s Chief within the department, however he was voted down during the township wide approval vote.  He fought valiantly in court to have his shot, but ultimately lost. Once that was settled, he firmly supported Navesink’s chiefs without further objection.  Despite this setback he never held a grudge and served as Secretary of the Fire Department for two decades.

Sam married his childhood sweetheart Jeanne Ann Sieh. She preceded him by exactly two months, although he was adamant that he expected to go first. Regardless, they  built a family and a life together lasting over 58 years.  One of the biggest things they had in common was that they both loved to travel. They drove to Florida at least a dozen times, not only to explore Disney World and see Mickey Mouse, but also to visit his mother Evelyn “Mitzie”,  stepfather Harold “Shi” Schaible, and to see his brother Amzi Michael, along with his SIL Evie Posten and their daughters, Carly and Tricia.  Jeanne and Sam also went on a number of cruises throughout the Caribbean where they enjoyed shopping for jewelry and exploring unmarked beaches, especially on St. John.  Later, during a trip to the West Coast they were derailed by a government shutdown causing the National Parks to close, but that didn’t keep them from sneaking into Yosemite. Once they even descended to the bottom of the Grand Canyon by helicopter just to enjoy a picnic lunch at the landing spot. Another travel dream that came true was when they experienced the Alaskan frontier and were delighted  to see glaciers calving and other magnificent sights along the coast and on a cross-country train ride. One of  their final adventures took them to Africa, where they went  on safari to visit Jeanne’s beloved elephants in the wild.  

Outside of his own family, Sam dearly loved the town of Navesink and the group of close-knit friends he cultivated. He enjoyed the company of his mother-in-law Edna and father-in-law Herbert Sieh, and relished holiday visits with Bert and Roberta Sieh and other family members.  Somehow, Sam always seemed to have the ear of anyone within range at the barbecues and crab parties he “hosted”. However, it was Jeanne that seemed to have the heavier share of coordinating, cooking and clean-up for these events.  In fact, one time he invited over 20 relatives to a Thanksgiving dinner.  Thankfully, with Jeanne’s poise and grace,  everyone survived unscathed.

Sam was a lifelong fan of the NY Yankees and NY Giants.  He shared in a set of season tickets for a number of years until the Giants decided to implement a Personal Seat License, upon which he never went to another game. Two of his biggest frustrations in life were terrible play calling by dopey Giants coaches and the Yankees leaving too many runners on base.

Sam enjoyed having pets throughout his whole life, although that had a rocky start. As a child he once impulsively threw the family dog out of a moving car.  Later on in life, he raised hunting beagles who never could chase a rabbit, even when the final one was deemed the last “Chance” to be a good hunter.  He grew to accept cats as well, and was adopted as Abbie’s human of choice. She  is going to miss him greatly. He was also loved by Bart and Jack, the local roaming tomcats. 

Sam made it known to all who would listen that he was exceptionally proud of the success his children achieved, and double that for the accomplishments of his grandchildren.  He shared with us that his greatest regret was not being able to hang on long enough to see them have children of their own. He was also very proud of his nieces, Carly and Tricia, as they also held a special place in his heart. 

Sam was a strong and athletic man. As a kid, he enjoyed playing baseball and football, and later went on to participate in bowling leagues and played in Fireman’s League softball as an adult.  He was a skilled pitcher, known to throw a mean knuckleball past even the heaviest of power hitters.  Of course, he’d sometimes follow up those “dazzling strikes” with his signature “over the backstop” pitch, laughing at himself (almost) every time it happened.  Sam also continued to mow lawns well into his seventies. Unfortunately, a combination of Heart Disease, Dementia and Diabetes ultimately became too much for him to fend off.  As he often told us, “If I knew I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself”. He thinks he stole that from Mickey Mantle, but he was an even bigger Yogi Berra fan and loved to quote Yogi-isms.

Church services will not be held, in accordance with Sam’s wishes. In fact, his actual wish was  to have a Viking-style funeral where he would be set adrift in a rowboat and engulfed in flames as he sailed down the Navesink River, but the state of NJ seems to rudely prohibit that. 

Instead, Sam will be cremated and his remains will be put in a handsome urn.  He and Jeanne will be interred together in the Sieh family plot at All Saints Episcopal Church graveyard sometime later this year.

A memorial celebration of life will be held at Posten’s funeral home in Atlantic Highlands on June 9th, from 10 AM to 1PM, with a repast to be hosted at Navesink Hook and Ladder Fire Co. #1 in Navesink directly afterwards. All are welcome at either or both events.  In lieu of sending flowers please consider donating a gift in his name to Navesink Hook and Ladder Fire Co. #1.