Wayne “Sambo” Kotara

Wayne “Sambo” Kotara was born in Pampa on March 4, 1943, to Sam and Irene Kotara alongside his twin sister Elayne.

Wayne was a resident of Groom for all of his 74 years, attending school in Groom and living in the family home until he married wife Adela in 1964. He then moved into a house just across the road, living on the same five acres for his entire life. He farmed and raised cattle, and started Kotara Cattle Company with his brother Ronald. Wayne was an active member of the Groom community. He served as a member of the Carson County ASCS committee and Groom Lions Club (often instigating the wet napkin fights at the member luncheons). On Groom Day weekends he was head barbecue chef and donkey race organizer.

More recently, he attended the daily meeting of the Coffee Shop Drinkers. Sambo considered himself a lifelong “real Groom Tiger.” He had near-perfect attendance to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, attending 30+ times with a collection of NFR baseball caps to prove it. He was an expert at grilling burgers, fixing tractors, and making everyone laugh.
He was preceded in death by his father Sam, his mother Irene, his brothers Ronald and Denny, and his twin sister Elayne.

Wayne is survived by his wife Adela, daughter Kim Guinn and husband Lynn of Wichita, Kansas, daughter Lindy Craft and husband Jack of Clarendon, daughter Staci Kotara of Groom, daughter Halee Kotara of Dallas, sister Cecilia Pounds of Albuquerque, sister Sandie McWherter of McKinney, and four granddaughters: Carson and Darby Guinn, and Charlotte and Elizabeth Craft.

In lieu of flowers, please put a $20 bill in the $5 Wheel of Fortune slot machine at the end of the second row in the high slots area of the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas. (Or alternately make a donation to the Groom Helping Hands Food Pantry, P.O. Box 616, Groom, TX 79039 or the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 130, Groom, TX 79039.)