Sam P. Gilstrap

Samuel Patrick Gilstrap (May 1, 1907 in Chandler, Oklahoma – April 25, 1989 in Cocoa Beach, Florida), a Career Foreign Service Officer who served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Malawi from July 1964 until October 6, 1965. He was the first United States Ambassador to Malawi after independence.

Biography
Gilstrap graduated from Oklahoma State University and Cumberland University. He was admitted to the Oklahoma Bar in 1932.

Before joining the Foreign Service in 1947, he practiced law in Oklahoma City, was chief auditor for the Civilian Works Administration and then worked for the Works Progress Administration in Washington, D.C.

In 1961, he was the Consul in Hong Kong and Macau.

He died of a heart attack on April 25th, 1989, at the age of 81, and was buried in Washington, District of Columbia.

Family
Gilstrap Married Mary Ethel on May 5th 1937.

The Birth of his first son Samuel Patrick Gilstrap Jr in 1941; who soon followed in his footsteps along with all his grand-children Beau Patrick Gilstrap, Samuel Lee Gilstrap and Mary Claire Gilstrap all serving their country.