Samuel Arthur McIntyre

Samuel Arthur McIntyre

1934 -2019

Samuel Arthur McIntyre passed away peacefully at home on the morning of December 30th, 2019, surrounded by his loving, admiring family. Husband, father, friend, mentor, banker, dishwasher and now wingman, he taught us all that giving starts where selfishness ends.

He was born January 15th, 1934 in Anaheim, California to Pamelia Rose Mullen and Duncan Arthur McIntyre. He grew up on a chicken ranch amongst the citrus groves that would soon become Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm. He was the youngest of 6 children and had 5 older sisters to mother him mercilessly. After graduating from St. Anthony High School in Long Beach in 1951 he attended Fullerton Junior College where he met the love of his life Carol Susan New, who would shortly become his loving wife of 65 years. He was drafted into the army and served 2 years in Korea as a Jeep driver after doing his basic training at Fort Ord in Monterey. After Korea, he graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a degree in entomology in 1958.

After college, he worked for the Los Angeles County Ag Commissioner’s office inspecting incoming freighters and cruise ships for invasive insect species. He then went to work for Standard Oil Company selling Ortho products to farmers in Ventura County. Together with Bob Needem he started Pacific Pest Control in Oxnard in late 1961. In 1970 he went to work for Kaiser Aetna developing avocados, citrus and grapes in Temecula and Moorpark. In late 1972, he and his partners Ken Crandall, Maurice McMillan, Frank Marshall and Percy Roberts started Pro Ag Inc., which at one point managed nearly 10,000 acres of agricultural assets in California. In 1985, they started Oxnard Lemon, a Sunkist packing house, where Sam served as managing partner until 2014.

Sam enjoyed raising greenhouse orchids, conducting avocado research and flying. He learn to fly in the 70’s and inspired a son and grandson to follow in his footsteps.

Sam garnered numerous awards and honors of distinction over the course of his lifetime and served on dozens of boards and agencies. He was a past president of Ventura County Farm Bureau, the Avocado Society and Vice Chair of the California Avocado Commission. He was a luminary when it came to water policy in the Las Posas Valley, serving passionately on many water boards. He will be remembered for his generosity and service to organizations such as 4-H, the Ventura County Fair and especially the Catholic Church.

Sam and Carol raised 3 sons; Steve (Kimberly), Scott (Debbie) and Michael (Kathy). Sam is survived by Carol, all 3 sons, 9 grandchildren (Denise, Courtney, Matthew, Clifton, Kristen, Kelsey, Kassandra, Cassidy and Hayden) and 6 great grandchildren.

A funeral mass, followed by a reception, will be celebrated at 11am on January 17th at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Moorpark, California. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Conejo Mountain Funeral Home & Memorial Park in Camarillo. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom; 2600 River Plaza Drive, Suite 220, Sacramento, CA 95833-3377. 

The family would like to thank the wonderful Assisted Home and Healthcare Hospice providers, nurses and staff who provided such benevolent care and Doctors Hamid and Foshag at the Angeles Clinic in Santa Monica, who 8 years ago, with their passionate staff, provided a near miraculous cure (Keytruda) for metastatic melanoma providing hope to millions of cancer victims and giving our family years of extended joy! We will miss him immensely!!