Michael Sam Richardson, Jr. "Sam", 41, of Whitewood, SD, passed away in a single vehicle crash in the early morning hours of February 22, 2023.

Sam was born in North Platte, Nebraska on January 11, 1982 to parents; Michael and Cindy Richardson.  Sam attended his early school years in Texas, then in North Platte and Stapleton, NE. At a young age he was active in soccer and T-ball. In 1992 Sam moved to Sturgis, SD, with his mother and sister. It was there that he continued his education and graduated from Sturgis Brown High School in 2000, He enjoyed baseball, spending time with his friends, building tree forts, riding dirt bikes, and picking on his little sister. Sam was a talent, whether it was self-taught guitar and drum playing, fixing small engines, leather craft, golfing, lake days or cooking.

After graduating Sam took on the electrical trade where he mastered his skills as a journeyman. His career took him all over the Midwest, including Colorado, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa, along with the Black Hills area. It didn't matter the size of the job; he took pride in every wire he connected. One would call Sam ambidextrous, as the left hander mastered right-handed golf and he would never strike up a game without an adventure and nothing less than $1 a hole. He had a huge heart and loved being around children. On Sundays, you could find him in the kitchen mastering up a huge pasta chicken alfredo, while his smoker was ablaze!

Sam climbed a lot of mountains during his time here and fought a lot of battles. He leaned closely on his lifelong friends that helped him along the way. He loved playing music with James and visiting about life experiences. He would be the first to tell you God has a plan, not to worry about him and everything will be alright.

His memories are left with his father, Michael S. Richardson, Sr. of Whitewood; SD, mother, Cindy (Buddy) Schaut of Mountain, WI; sister, Amanda (Jeremy) Wells and family of Sturgis, SD; grandmother, Arlene Richardson of North Platte, NE; uncles, Tom (Paula) Richardson, Ron (Nancy) Richardson all of North Platte, NE, and Brian (Rhona) O'Neil of Wauneta, NE; aunts, Chris Fisher of Cheyenne, WY and Michele (Dan) Clem of Denver, CO; along with many cousins and numerous lifelong friends.

He was preceded in death by grandfathers, Rex Richardson, North Platte, NE, Pat O'Neil and Robert Troudt of Wauneta, NE; grandmother, Beverly (O'Neil) Troudt, Wauneta, NE; and uncle, Bill O'Neil, Reno, NV.

In lieu of flowers, all monetary donations will be donated to an Addiction Awareness within the community.

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