Samuel Bruce Boor

Born July 21, 1934 in Jewett, Ohio
Departed May 24, 2024 in Palm Bay, Florida

Samuel Bruce Boor sailed to his new adventure on Friday, May 24th as his spirit left his body. Sam was always happiest when he was in the water, on the water or by the water.

Sam was born on July 21, 1934 to Mildred and William Boor in Jewett, Ohio. The family moved with his parents and wonderful sister, Jean Boor Vines to Orlando when Sam was a young child, starting his long love of Florida.

His athleticism and academic prowess led him to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He quickly realized that the cold waters of Connecticut just couldn’t compare to the warmth of Florida. Two years later he transferred to Georgia Tech, earning his Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering. Joyful highlights from his college years were the 1955 Cotton Bowl with Tech beating Arkansas and the 1956 Sugar Bowl as Tech beat Pitt in a highly controversial game.

While at Tech, he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta and marched with the Georgia Tech band. His time at college and beyond was filled with a love for music, especially playing trombone, piano and organ. His favorite genre of music was Dixieland jazz. Sam was also an excellent dancer. He was quite the bon vivant! Sam’s well rounded college career included finding and courting Jacque Dial. The young couple married in 1956 in Monroe, Georgia and had a grand 48 years together. Sam received his MSEE from Johns Hopkins at Jacque’s behest, but he managed to talk his way out of all that schooling the doctorate she wanted him to pursue would take.

Sam had a long and illustrious career in communications: satellite, wireless systems, and telecommunications. We think he not only designed satellites but probably invented them too. He’s not here to correct us. Don’t check Wikipedia. Trust us, he was brilliant. He began his career working for Bendix Radio in Baltimore after receiving his MSEE. To get out of that cold weather, Sam and Jacque moved to Orlando where he worked for Systems, Inc. A new job with Harris Corporation in 1965 moved the family 50 miles east to what would be their last home in Melbourne Beach. He retired from Harris in 1994. His career spanned projects from Berlin to the Philippines, Honduras and the Middle East. He was on the cutting edge of technology and projects that changed the world and helped keep our country safe.

His international travel allowed him to enjoy scuba diving all over the world. He visited every dive site in the world that he wanted to experience – this was to reassure himself (and us) that the Abacos, Bahamas offer the most beautiful diving anywhere. Sam was a lifelong boater and enjoyed crossing to the Bahamas for many summers – at least once a summer. Many family vacations were enjoyed by generations of Boors with Sam leading the way! He took us to his favorite spots to snorkel, fish and grab lobsters. No fish tale: Sam wrestled with a shark – and won! Sam was spearfishing and spotted the biggest hog nose snapper. He couldn’t get a clean shot. A fight ensued. and Sam was busy trying to bring the fish to the surface when out of nowhere – duunnn dunnn… duuuunnnn duun… – a shark took a bite out of Sam’s calf. Sam gave the shark a good punch, quickly swimming for the boat. He climbed in the boat and looked out and saw his hog nose snapper floating near the boat; whereupon he jumped back into the water to get his fish!

It was Sam’s habit to walk the two blocks to the beach to see the sunrise and then “jalk” 3-4 miles. No one could keep up with him – even in the later years!

Sam is going to be dearly missed by his wife, Flor, whom he married in 2011. They had a happy marriage, living out their golden years in the Florida sunshine, close to his beloved ocean.

Flor, Wayne and Joyce, Karen and Steve and the 5 grandchildren who he adored, Eric, Joshua, Elizabeth, William and Alex, and Jean will all miss their dad, their pawpaw, their brother, their Sam – husband, father, brother and friend.

In lieu of flowers or donations, next time you are near an ocean, watch a sunset, wade through the surf with your khakis rolled up, jalk while enjoying the salty breeze with gratitude in your heart for the beauty of sand and sea. Feel comfort knowing that he is riding a wave with a drink in his hand!

The family will have a private celebration of life on Saturday, June 1st.