Sam Maloof

(Sam Working on the Walnut Recliner)

It was a pleasure every time I would load up the truck with a handful of large slabs and head north to Sam's Shop.

He loved having me bring up loads of wood up to his shop and he, Roz, Larry, Mike, and Dave would always stop working and look at all the pieces.

You could almost feel his creative gears moving as he looked at all the wood and knew right away what each piece was going to be turned into.

One week before Sam’s passing, Roz gave me a call to to inform me of Sam’s condition. I asked if I could see him and drove up the next day.

The last time I saw Sam, we spent about half an hour talking and recounting experiences we had together over the years. Although a short visit, I am happy that I had a chance to say goodbye to my old friend.

At his memorial service this past Tuesday there was a display with some of Sam’s pieces. I noticed a walnut recliner with black upholstery. Roz said it was borrowed from the Riverside Museum’s display and it was one of the last pieces he made.

I reminded her about a visit a while back in which I spent some time with Sam in his shop.
He was working on a similar recliner at the time and I remember him having me adjust the positioning of the legs as he looked on about ten feet away trying to feel out the rocker's sweet spot.

Roz told me that this was the same recliner and in fact was one of the few he ever made.

Its going to be a different world for me knowing that Sam is not in his shop and I'm going to miss waking up early, loading the truck and heading up to his shop. So long old friend.

(At Sam's Memorial, on his Walnut Recliner)