Mildred was born on September 25, 1923, on the family farm near Arnolds Park, Iowa, to Curtis and Marie Longshore Bundy. She graduated from Arnolds Park High School with the Class of 1941, and she later attended William Penn College in Oskaloosa. Following her education, she worked for the John Hancock Insurance Company in Des Moines and for a bank in Milford, Iowa. On February 8, 1946, she was married to Russell Sams at the Friends Church in Arnolds Park. The couple lived in Oskaloosa, where Russ attended college and she worked in a bank and at the YMCA. The family also lived in Grinnell, Cresco and Kirksville, Missouri before returning to Grinnell in 1974. Mildred was a member of the United Methodist Church of Grinnell, the United Methodist Women and the Order of Eastern Star. She enjoyed crafts, especially needlework and ceramics, shopping for bargains, playing cards and socializing with her friends, and spending the winter months in Arizona. Survivors include her husband, Russ Sams of Grinnell; her children and their spouses, Mark and Connie Sams of River Falls, Wisconsin, Cheryl and John Vigna of Los Angeles,California, and Ron and Cathy Sams of Apple Valley, Minnesota; three grandchildren, Paige, Joe and Rachel Sams; and two sisters, Bonnie Wunder of Lake Park, Iowa and Gwen Bundy of Milford, Iowa. Mildred died on Sunday, February 27, 2005, at Grinnell Regional Medical Center. She was 81 years of age, and she was preceded in death by her parents and one brother, Cyril Bundy. Memorials may be directed to the Grinnell United Methodist Church.