Obituary of Samuel Reynaldo Ybarra

Our father, Samuel “Sam” Reynaldo Ybarra, went to be with the Lord, Tuesday at 2:15am on December 1st, 2020 at the age of 77, with my sister Samantha and I, Jessica, at his bedside. Our dad was born November 29, 1943 at the Mohave County Hospital in Kingman, Arizona. At a young age his mom moved them to Watts, California where he was raised. They attended church at Templo Bethel church where at the age of 10 our dad met our mom Bertha (Birdie) Aguinaga, who was 9 years old at the time. They grew up in the church together & where married in this church on March 6th, 1965. Our dad had aunts, uncles & cousins he visited in Kingman and had a love for Kingman. He moved my mother and I to Kingman where my dad worked at L.W. Hardy Turquoise Company. A year later Samantha was born and our family was complete. Our dad’s true talent was singing. In school he could never concentrate because songs and melodies were always going through his mind. His range and tone were incredible. At a young age he was singing in church. At 15 he became a member of his Uncle Ishmael’s gospel quartet. Their quartet made a record & sang on the radio during live Spanish church services in Southern California. Singing was his passion. Our dad loved gospel quartets and everything Elvis. Our dad would tell us stories of him singing Elvis songs to my mom when they were young & of course it was normal for us growing up to see my dad grab our mom & start singing to her. Music was always in our house. The piano he played was a piano that mom, shortly after moving to Kingman, found and had refurbished for my dad. Throughout our lives we stood around that piano as a family while dad played. Dad was always making sure we were singing & learning our parts of each song. We often sang hymns as a family. Dad’s singing & music is in every part of our lives. He didn’t just walk each of us down the aisle on our wedding days, but also sung to us. Our children have their favorite Elvis songs they sang with their PaPa and grandma. Psalms 98:1 says, “Sing unto the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous thing!” Our parents taught us to praise Him. Our dad started working at the age of 16. He retired at the age of 65 from General Cable. His hard work allowed our mom to stay at home and raise us. He provided a roof over our heads, every stitch of clothes we wore, every meal our mom cooked, paid for every school activity & provided weddings for us both. Our father worked hard and never complained. He was happy when he saw that our husbands were doing the same. He didn’t have to worry. Our parents where generous and tithed faithfully. After mom passed, our father continued in his faithfulness. As we were taking him to the hospital for the last time he made sure to make arrangements so we were able to provide his tithe and offering. Malachi 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessings that there will not be room enough to store it.” Our father, like our mother, loved his grandchildren and prayed for them daily. What a legacy of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, faith in prayer and generosity he left for his family. The bible says, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children...” Proverbs 13:22. This our father did. Our dad, Sam, was proceeded in death by his wife, our mom, of 50 years, Bertha; his mother, our praying grandmother, Emma Braun; his stepfather Salvador Braun; his father Reynaldo Ybarra; and son-in-law, who we miss so much, Steven Wusstig. He is survived by his daughter Jessica Cooper & son-in-law Rusty Cooper; his daughter, who is named after him, Samantha Wusstig; the grandchildren that he loved and prayed for daily, Austin Cooper, Vanessa Cooper, Brooklyn Wusstig and Stevie Wusstig; his sister Elizabeth Braun; brothers (twins), our uncles, Joel Braun and Timothy Braun; and his brother Steve Ybarra. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 19th, at Hope City Church, 1850 Gates Ave., Kingman, AZ. Viewing is at 10:30am. Service at 11am Arrangements were placed in the care of Lietz-Fraze Funeral Home and Crematory and Memorials may be sent to the funeral home or Hope City Church. Thoughts and condolences may be submitted to the family at www.lietz-frazefuneralhome.com To send a FREE card to the family go to www.sendoutcards/lietzfraze