Samuel Baeza

With deepest sorrow we announce that Samuel Baeza, 40, of Salina, our most beloved son, brother and friend passed away at Salina Regional Hospital on Friday, September 3, 2021.

Sam was born on October 20, 1980 in Lubbock, TX, to Salvador and Maria Baeza. He graduated from Salina South High School in 1999. As a teenager he loved playing sports, working, and creating his own movies and artwork. He was incredibly talented in so many ways and was usually deep in thought about how he could make something better.

Sam worked at Tucson’s during and after high school, where he made many lifelong friendships and got the opportunity to work with his brothers Willie, Fernando and David. He worked most recently as a lead at Tony’s, a job he loved because of the opportunities to challenge himself and because of the friends and family he made along the way. He often celebrated birthdays, baby showers, and other special events with his Tony’s family.

Sam moved to Florida briefly during his adulthood but moved back to Salina in order to be closer to his family and friends, he especially missed celebrating holidays and playing on his adult kickball team. Sam loved Halloween since it allowed him to use his artistic and creative abilities. He was an avid fan of the Raiders, Bulls and Jayhawks.

Sam will be missed every day by his mother, Maria; brothers and sisters, Willie, Gilbert, Lori, David, Sonya; his nieces and nephews, Kelli, Damon and soon to be born, Maya; great nephews, Jaxson and Aiden; his lifelong friends, Amber and Braxton Morrical, who he lived with for the past several years; and so many great friends, most of whom Sam also considered family. If you were a friend of Sam’s, you were friends for life.

We pray Sam is now with his father, Salvador, and brother, Fernando.

The funeral service will be held on Saturday, September 11, at 2 p.m. at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Salina. There will be a rosary prior to the service. Burial will immediately follow the service at Gypsum Hill Cemetery. All friends and family are invited to a celebration of life at 5 p.m. at the Tumbleweed Event Center, 5680 W Old Hwy 40, Salina.

Memorial contributions may be made to the family to use towards funeral expenses, care of Ryan Mortuary, Salina.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Samuel Baeza, please visit our floral store.