Sam Lindley

Sam Hardin Lindley, 88, of York, Alabama passed away on Saturday, April 21, 2018 at the Sumter Health and Rehab in York. His funeral service will be held at Cockrell Funeral Home Chapel in Macon, MS on Wednesday April 25 at 3:30 P.M. with Bro. Leon Ballard officiating. Interment with military honors will follow at Salem Cemetery in Macon. Visitation will be at the funeral home from 2:30 P.M.  until 3:30 P.M. Wednesday. Cockrell Funeral Home of Macon, MS is honored to be entrusted with the service arrangements.

Sam Hardin Lindley was born on October 8, 1929 in Macon, MS to the late Leslie Eugene and Lisa Evelyn Perkins Lindley. He attended the Salem Community School but graduated from Macon High School. He attended Mississippi State University for two years and then joined the U.S. Air Force. He served in the Korean War and ended his service as a Tech Sergeant. After his military service, he began working for the Coca-Cola Company, a company to which he dedicated over 40 years. On November 16, 1957, he married the love of his life, Joyce Vernon. In 1969, Sam moved his family to York, Alabama where he took over as Manager of the York Coca-Cola Bottling Plant, a position he held for the next forty years. After the York plant was closed, he began working in Meridian for the Coca-Cola Coin Catering, also as the manager. Sam was a longtime member of York Baptist Church where he served as a Deacon and as a Sunday school teacher. He was also a member of the Lion’s Club and was a Mason.

While all who knew Sam have their own personal memories of him, his daughter, Cindy Whitmire, puts it best: “My Daddy was all about love. He loved God, his wife, girls, sons-in-law and his grandchildren. Daddy and Momma lived the example of a loving Christian marriage and showing us how to love unconditionally. They loved and respected each other and enjoyed just being together. He loved spending time with his sisters and brother and with Momma’s family. I never spent a day with him that he didn’t say that he loved me and the same is true for my sisters.

He was a “numbers” guy. He could add a column of figures and find the problem on a spread-sheet before I could get my calculator out. He loved following the stock market (checking to see if he’d made money) and Braves baseball. In retirement he became an exceptional gardener. He could root a beautiful plant from a half-dead twig. His yard (and mine) are a testament to his ability. He loved a good story, sometimes one even a bit exaggerated, or a prank. I know that his sarcastic humor has been passed down to me and my children. My husband summed it up best: “I’m lucky to have had his example of how to be a good man.” Sam is preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Bubba Lindley and infant sister, Lucille Lindley

Sam Lindley is survived by his wife of over 60 years: Joyce V. Lindley of York, Al as well as by their three daughters: Cindy Whitmire (Harold) of Kingwood, TX; Jupie Lindley of Birmingham, Al; and Beth Williams (Jay) of Mount Airy, NC. He is also survived by three sisters: Judith Perkins of Daphne, Al; Jean Phillips of Jacksonville, NC; and Nell Grissom of Meridian, MS and by four grand-children: Zoe Whitmire, Tucker Whitmire, Lindley Williams, and Matheson Williams.