Sam Harry MAVRAKIS 1918- 2008 SHS 1937
;

Sam Harry Mavrakis, 89, lifelong resident of Sheridan, died March 6, 2008, at the family residence of natural causes.

Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Thursday at Holy Name Catholic Church with the Revs. Doug Melius and Brian Johnson of First Presbyterian Church officiating.

Burial will be in the Elks Section of Sheridan Municipal Cemetery, followed by a reception luncheon at Lodore in Story. Arrangements are with Kane Funeral Home.

Mr. Mavrakis was born June 18, 1918, in Monarch to Greek immigrant parents Harry and Georgia Mavrakis. The family later moved to Sheridan, where Harry Mavrakis opened two nightclubs and, later, Bronx Billiards on North Main Street.

Sam Mavrakis was a January 1937 graduate of Sheridan High School, where he played football, lettering for three years. He was an All-State selection as guard and was a Broncs Outstanding Player, Most Valuable Player and Honorary Captain.

He attended Brigham Young University on a football scholarship and played four years of varsity football as guard. He was BYU All-American in 1941. He also was a member of the BYU varsity wrestling team for two years, losing only one match.

He was inducted into the Army in January 1942, serving in the coast artillery and the Pacific Theater. He was a staff sergeant with the 6th Army’s 211th Anti- Aircraft Artillery Battalion, Battery B, commanding four gun crews.

He was in battles in the Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea, the South Philippines and the invasion of the Philippines.

He received the Bronze Star, Good Conduct Medal, American Theater of Operations Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with four bronze stars and bronze arrowhead, the World War II Victory Medal with bronze star, and the Philippine Defense Ribbon and Medal with two bronze stars.

He was honorably discharged in December 1945.

After returning to Sheridan, Mr. Mavrakis helped his father and brothers open The Ritz Billiards at 135 N. Main St.

He married Goldie Mae Williams in 1953. She died in 1980, and he married Lynn Borg Burnham in Sheridan in 1990.

The Ritz became a sporting goods store, and Mr. Mavrakis received numerous recognitions and awards, including a commission as deputy game warden for Wyoming, the American Association of Conservation Information Award of Merit, and letters of commendation from U.S. Sens. Al Simpson and Malcolm Wallop for lifetime contributions to the Sheridan area and the state.

Gov. Mike Sullivan declared June 16, 1988, Sam Mavrakis Day in Wyoming, citing Mr. Mavrakis’ lifetime dedication to Wyoming and Sheridan citizens and the natural environment.

The Sheridan City Council approved development of the Sam Mavrakis Fishing Pond in 1993, and Mr. Mavrakis was inducted into the 2006 Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame in September that year.

In addition to his first wife, he was preceded in death by two brothers, Paul and Gus.

Survivors include his wife; a son, Sam Paul of Banner; a daughter, Tami of Story; two stepsons, Stuart Burnham of Wilmington, N.C., and Chris Burnham of Chicago; two grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to Wyoming State Game & Fish Foundation, Sheridan Senior Citizens Center Day Break program, Sheridan Recreation District, Hospice of the Big Horns, or a recipient of the donor’s choice.

The Sheridan Press - March 10, 2008