Samuel William Huckleberry, 86, of Attica, Indiana went to be with God at Ascension Hospital in Kokomo at 3:30am on August 27th, 2023 after a brief battle with complications from COVID. Sam was born in Attica on May 30th, 1937 at 807 South Brady Street in a house built by his father, Howard Huckleberry. He came into the world in the front bedroom to his mother, Madeline (Walter) Huckleberry.
Sam lived in Attica his entire life. He spent his youth with his best friends, Joe Layden and Bill Kinney, loving his South Brady neighborhood. Wanting to move "out of town", his father then built a home at what is now 1010 South Brady Street and helped establish Attica's first and only "boulevard" street, with a median Sam maintained as one of his chores. He served as Class President of the Class of 1955 at Attica High School and stayed close with that class through all his years.
After graduating from Purdue in Civil Engineering, he was drafted into the Army Corps of Engineers and reported to Fort Belvoir, Virginia. There he met Betty Ann Rudich. They married on July 14th, 1962 in a ceremony held in the house at 1010 South Brady. Unable to have children, they adopted their son, David William in 1968 and followed by a daughter, Tina Marie in 1971, and raised them in Attica, first on Foster Drive and then the "Huckleberry House" at 700 Park Avenue in 1977, where he resided with his son until his passing.
Sam worked for one employer his entire professional career. In 1962, he was hired by the Indiana State Highway Commission as a Civil Engineer to start implementing the Eisenhower Interstate System. He started his career in Aurora, Indiana working on what would become I-74 near Cincinnati. He then moved back to Attica and proceeded to work on almost every highway in West Central Indiana and every Wabash River bridge from Clinton to Delphi. He was most proud of three projects. The first was the Lafayette Railroad Relocation, which he worked on from design through completion. The second was the innovative construction of State Road 63, which was often built at night, received an award for its smoothness, and graced the cover of the official Map of Indiana. Lastly, and closest to his heart, was the building of the existing Paul Dresser Bridge in Attica. It allowed him to have his kids visit him at work and get feedback from citizens every morning at "The Hoosier" who even helped him with the working name of the bridge, as they asked him daily when the "God Damn Bridge" would be done. He loved his work, and those he worked with over the years, always mixing work and humor.
In his retirement, Sam and Betty returned to their home at 700 Park Avenue to share their lives with his son's family in "The Pod" attached to the home. Sam enjoyed doing Soduku puzzles daily on his big deck, listening to the Bob and Tom Show and 50's music, and watching every movie ever made on his TV visible from space. He developed a close relationship with his "Amazon" and Alexa"  late in life and found them both able to always provide him just what he needed in music, weather, TV shows and so much information it amazed him.
Sam is survived by Betty(wife), David(son) and Krissy (daughter in law) of Attica, Tina(daughter) of Atlanta Georgia. Grandchildren Ryan, Jillian and Olivia of Attica,  and Alex Gutierrez of Atlanta, Georgia. He was preceded in death by his father & mother.
A visitation will be held at Maus Funeral Home in Attica on Wednesday August 30th from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. with Masonic Rites being recited at 7:45 p.m.  Funeral services will be held on Thursday August 31st at 11:00 a.m. with Pastor Hunter Chadwell officiating.  Burial, with military services, will follow in the Riverside Cemetery in Attica. Memorial donations may be made in Sam's name to the Alzheimer's Association in honor of his wife Betty who he supported and comforted for so many years or to the Attica Christian Church.