Sam B. Maisano, age 86, passed away in Monument, Colorado on September 14, 2023.
Sam was born November 24,1936, in Newark, New Jersey, the son of immigrant Italian parents. He is one
of ten children and moved to Winter Haven, Florida with his family when he was six years old. During his
high school years, he played football and was a water skier for Cypress Gardens ski show. He
graduated from the University of Florida with a B.S. in Construction and Architectural Engineering and was a
member of the ATO fraternity. In 1961, Sam and his wife, Paula Judith (Rice) Maisano, settled in
Indian Shores where they raised their family on the white, sandy beaches of Pinellas County, Florida.
As a young man, he was proficient in the management of orange groves in Winter Haven where he worked
in his family's business. After college he worked as a building contractor in Cocoa Beach, the Caribbean
shrimping industry in Honduras, as a realtor/broker in Pinellas County and a partner in a catamaran boat
business. In 1969, he and his partners opened The Hungry Fisherman Restaurant on Indian Shores, FL
where they had a successful business for 37 years. In 1981, he opened the Seabar Restaurant in St.
Petersburg, FL with 2 other partners.

Sam widely traveled North America, Canada, Central America, Europe and the Mediterranean by plane,
boat and in his GMC motorhome, he was a licensed multi-engine pilot as well. He loved spending time with
his wife Paula, his children and extended family and friends and enjoyed his time communing with nature
whether he was in the mountains of Colorado or on a boat in the Gulf of Mexico. His life was marked by
incredible stories of peril and survivorship in a plane crash in the jungles of Honduras in 1967 and was lost
at sea in the Gulf of Mexico in 1981.

Sam was a devoted family man and family meals were a highlight of time spent together. He also loved his
fellow man and was always there to help with their needs, spiritual and physical. His heart was to share the
gospel message with anyone he came in contact with. He was a member of Indian Rocks Baptist Church in
Largo, FL where he served on the prayer team, evangelism team and the Celebrate Recovery program.
He came to understand faith in Jesus Christ at St. Benedict’s Monastery in Snowmass, CO in 1974 so it was
fitting, although unexpected, that he spent his final months in the state of Colorado.
He was preceded in death by his daughter, Teresa Patrick and his seven Maisano siblings: Joe, Rose, Mary,
Mike, Madalyn, Tony and Connie.

He is survived by his wife, Paula and their children: Elizabeth (Rob) Brooks, Sam Jr (Beth and grandson
Joe) Maisano, Rose (Mark and granddaughters Lauren and Amelia) Haug, Maria Maisano and Christine
(Rob and grandson Hutch) Maisano-Quinlan. He is also survived by his son-in-law Franklin Patrick
(granddaughter Kirsten Brown and grandson Evan Patrick and their families which include five great
grandchildren). He is also survived by his sister Sarah Remillard and his brother Leon Maisano along with
many nieces and nephews.

His life was based on 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and he lived this by loving unconditionally, giving self-sacrificially
and forgiving all immediately:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it
is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but
rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.