Samuel Minor Sr.

The Greatest Generation has lost an-
other member; Samuel M. Minor, Sr., 98, went home

to the Lord on August 14, and to be reunited with
Betty, his beloved wife of more than 61 years. Sam
was born in Keyport to James and Rose (Woolley)
Minor. He attended Keyport schools, then worked
building lifeboats at Galbraith Company in Keyport,
until he was drafted at age 19 into WWII. He landed
in Africa in August 1943, and served as a lineman/
radio operator with the 45th Infantry Division
(Thunderbirds) in battles and campaigns including
the Salerno, Italy beach invasion on September 8,

1943, Naples-Foggia, Anzio, Rome-Arno, southern France invasion, Ar-
dennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Rhineland-Germany, to Munich, Germany

in 1945. In 1944, a commendation from his Commanding General stated:
“Private Minor, as a member of the wire section...has accomplished his duties
under the most difficult conditions. The most hazardous work within the
battalion is performed by the wire section. Private Minor has been called
out at all hours of the day and night during heavy artillery shelling to repair
and maintain wire lines to the battalion switchboard and the observation
posts. As a member of the wire section it is necessary for Private Minor to
perform most of his work at a time when most soldiers have taken cover to
protect themselves from enemy shelling and bombing.” On April 29, 1945,
Sam and his fellow soldiers in the 45111, and two other divisions, arrived
at Dachau concentration camp, to liberate more than 30,000 prisoners. In
1947, he married Betty Kizakavich, a Keyport girl, and they raised their two
children in Keyport. Sam served many years as a volunteer firefighter with
Lincoln Hose Fire Company. He was a longtime member of the Keyport
VFW Post 4247, serving as Commander in 1960-61, and started a boys’ drill
team, which participated in many area parades. A lifelong member of the
Keyport Dutch Reformed Church (now the Community Church of Keyport),
Sam served as an usher, an elder on the Consistory, and as sexton for many
years in addition to his full-time job as a carpenter with Local Union 1006.
Sam loved the holidays, especially Thanksgiving, when he and Betty would
cook the turkey dinner, and Christmas, when they would prepare their

traditional roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. After Betty’s death, Sam con-
tinued to cook those holiday meals for his children and grandchildren. One

of the highlights of Sam’s life was attending the dedication of the National
WWII Monument in Washington DC with his family in 2004. In addition
to Betty, Sam was predeceased by seven siblings. Surviving are his devoted
children, Barbara Allmer (Erich), Sam Minor, Jr. (Carmela); grandchildren
David, Kristin and Peter Allmer, Matthew Minor (Kate), and Kimberly
Minor, and great-granddaughter Emma Rose; a brother, Frank Minor, Sr.,
brother-in-law Gene Smith, and many nieces, nephews, and their families.
Friends and relatives may call at Day Funeral Home, Keyport, on Thursday,
August 18, from 2 to 4 pm and 7 to 9 pm, and on Friday, August 19 at 10:30
am. Interment will be at Shoreland Memorial Gardens in Hazlet, following
a brief service at 11 am at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, you may
wish to make a donation in memory of Sam to the Community Church of
Keyport or a charity of your choice.

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