Samuel "Sam" Harris McGirt

Samuel Harris McGirt, 81, passed away on Thursday, January 1, 2026, with family present.  He passed suddenly due to cardiorespiratory arrest, but he continued to entertain and make people around him laugh whenever he was able.

Sam, as he was usually known, was born in Dillon, SC, to Murphy Frank McGirt, Sr. and Sarah Blackwell McGirt.  He regularly said that he was the first in his family to be born in a hospital instead of “on the kitchen table” because his father bargained with the hospital to trade contracting work for a hospital birth.  Despite being a precocious child, he was able to graduate the Maxton school system with his eyebrows intact.  He married his high school sweetheart before he graduated from Presbyterian College, with whom he had his two children, Sue McGirt (now deceased) and Ben (Mindy) McGirt. Sam was also a proud grandfather to Ian and Isaac.  However, many would say his favorite child was his American Eskimo dog, Casper, his faithful companion of many years. 

He worked early for his father’s plumbing and heating contracting business, McGirt’s Plumbing and Electric, in order to support his family.  Sam frequently recounted multiple stories of his enjoyment and experiences working with many of the staff at McGirt’s Plumbing and many became friends of Sam’s outside of work.  He took over the management of McGirt’s Plumbing when his father; Murphy, Sr.; was diagnosed with late-stage colon cancer.  Despite not having been taught or groomed for managing the company, he dedicated a tremendous amount of time and effort to learn and modernize McGirt’s Plumbing to run as successfully as possible.  He was one of the earlier adopters of personal computers in the 1980’s to help calculate the estimates for his contracting proposals.  Sam later sold McGirt’s Plumbing and Electric to Smith’s Refrigeration, located in Lumberton, NC.

Outside of work, Sam primarily enjoyed fishing and writing as his pastimes.  He would wake up at 3am and travel all over the state to spend the day on the lake in his boat.  He also worked to help build a local bass fishing groups so that they could eventually participate in some pro/am tournaments.  He never won any tournaments, but he thoroughly enjoyed participating and talking with the bass pro anglers he was paired with.  He even made friends with Ken Cook, 1991 Bassmaster Classic champion and stayed close friends with Ken and his family until Ken’s passing in 2016.

Inspired by humorists like Lewis Grizzard, author of books like “My Daddy Was a Pistol and I’m a Son of a Gun”, Sam started writing funny and touching stories about his life and experiences.  These writings eventually led to a weekly column in the Fayetteville Observer and a regular appearance on local radio station, WKML.

Sam would regularly say, “God put me on this world to make them laugh.”  He always had a joke or story ready to entertain and lighten the mood.  He would also regularly bring people gifts like pound cakes or other treats to help brighten their day when he could.

In addition to his son, Ben, daughter-in-law, Mindy, and cherished grandsons, Ian and Isaac, Sam is survived by his brothers, Murphy McGirt, Jr. (Anita), Hal McGirt (Alice) and many beloved nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews.

A celebration of Sam’s life will be held at Richard Boles Funeral Service in Laurinburg, NC, on March 21, 2026.  Visitation will start at 12:30pm with a service starting at 2:00p.m.  An interment service at Centre Presbyterian Church will occur following the service.  

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