My first memory of Sam was when I was a runner back in 2000 (or so) in the old building – 600 Congress Ave. Sam came into the mailroom and said to me, “Could you go down to Starbucks and get me a half-caf, half-decaf coffee with two sweetlow?” Having never ordered anything at Starbucks until I started working at SD&M, I had no idea what he meant. I even asked the barista what “sweetlow” was and she pointed me to the pink “Sweet & Low” packages. I was so happy that I got Sam’s order right for him!
I enjoyed working on the JC case with him and another SD&M attorney. We were close to going to trial in Laredo. That would have been fun.
Eternal rest grant unto Sam, O Lord. Let the perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. And may God’s love, peace, and consolation be with his wife and daughters.
Below is my homily that I shared during the Rite:
As my wife and I were waiting to talk with Maureen during the visitation last night, I was looking at the screen and saw a picture of Sam and Maureen next to a sign that read: “Live a great story.” Sam lived a great story and his story lives on in our hearts.The loss of a loved one is painful. It is even more painful when the loss is sudden because we did not have a chance to say our final “I love you” and “Good-bye.” Maureen, Ella, Page, Tim, Sarah, and Kevin - you all and your families are in my prayers as I pray for the blessed repose of Sam’s soul at the Holy Sacrifice of Mass that I serve at or attend.In this time of grieving, and as we reflect on all the fond memories that we have of Sam, may his memory be a blessing to us. Sam blessed me with his childlike love for life and the practice of law. After more than three decades, he represented and served his colleagues and clients with so much passion and compassion and I am blessed to be counted among his colleagues as a member of the SD&M family.Most of all, Sam blessed me with the childlike love that he had for his wife, daughters, and families. I love reading his posts about his family. On Maureen’s birthday, Sam wrote: “Happy Happy Birthday Maureen!! You sure have made life loving and fun!!! I hope that you have a great day!! Love you times infinity!!” (Facebook, December 19, 2024). Maureen, Sam loves you and your children still because he now rests in your hearts forever.On his daughters’ birthday, Sam wrote: “Happy Happy birthday to my wonderful awesome baby girls Page (left) and Ella (right). They are 18 today! I love them so very much!! In my humble opinion, they are awesome and they will set the world on fire!! Maureen and I sure are lucky parents!!” (Facebook, May 1, 2025). Ella and Page, carry in your hearts that fire of your dad’s love and go and set the world on fire as he knew you both will.Dearest friends, let us find comfort in the love that God has for each and everyone of us and console one another because, for “those who believe in God’s love death is not the end, nor does it destroy the bonds that [God] forged in our lives,” especially, the bond that God forged between each one of us and Sam.
When my wife and I arrived at the burial site, after I vested, we walked up to the representative from the funeral home to introduce ourselves. As we shook hands, the stand with Sam's picture fell over and knocked over the two flower arrangements in front of it. We helped the funeral home representative rearrange the picture stand and flower arrangements. I shared this with Sam's wife and her children and we were all like: "Sam is stirring things up in heaven already!" As Sam would say: "Heck yeah! That's right! That's right!" Afterwards, one of the guests came up to us, thanked us, and also said, "Behind every good man is a woman rolling her eyes." We both chuckled at the comment.
At his memorial service that afternoon, one of his long-time friend, one of his long-time law partner, and his two daughters delivered beautiful eulogies in tribute to Sam. However, what one of his daughter said really struck me. She said (I am paraphrasing here) that while she did not know why God called her dad home to heaven so soon, she knows that God has a greater plan for her dad in heaven. What a beautiful witness of her faith in the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!
UDPDATE (8/4/2025): This is such a precious picture of Sam that his beloved wife took (see description below). It is a reminder to me to cherish those moments of sacred silence because it is in those tender moments that God whispers into the quiet of our hearts how much He loves us.
Excerpts from his loving wife's post on 8/4/2025:
"I wanted to share this pic of Sam which was taken on his birthday weekend in May, he turned 63. We had planned to go to Chicago initially to get away for a long weekend but when we found out that the Cubs were not in town, we eventually decided to go to Rockport, a place neither of us had been but came highly recommended. The picture was taken directly in front of the Airbnb that we had stayed. Our labs had never been on a trip with us but both Hoover and Kennedy had such a blast, as did Sam and I! I have never seen Sam so peaceful and calm (with no phone in his hand!) Between FB and the 20+ online newspaper subscriptions he had, he loved soaking up what was going on in the world and wishing each and everyone of his FB friends a Happy Birthday! But this time was different, he just sat and stared across the water and I was excited to be able to snap such a beautiful picture of him and our dogs. I think back and I wonder if maybe he knew something..."
No comments:
Post a Comment