Sam's Sef-Portrait
Getting to Know Sam
Our son, Sam, known as “Sammy” by his friends, was a friendly, sweet and funny young man who took his own life at the age of 13 on April 9, 2008. Sadly, Sam struggled to find his place in life, and the middle school years were particularly tough and stressful. He was also conflicted with the issues of identity common to adopted children.
Our family is extremely grateful for the opportunity to help deserving students achieve their higher education dreams — especially students like Sam who may not fit into a traditional mold. The scholarship fund will take into consideration a variety of factors that lead to success — besides grades — and we encourage all students who seek to pursue their dreams to apply.
Kathie and Doug Joseph
Sam enjoyed a variety of interests over the years--among them, baseball and baseball card collecting, skateboarding, snowboarding, photography, playing card games, doing magic tricks with cards and playing video games. He enjoyed personalizing his world by uniquely decorating his room and belongings, especially his skateboards. Spending time with friends, playing drums, and listening to music were his favorite pastimes. He loved animals, particularly our family dog Cristy and Tony, his pet lizard.
Sam loved family vacations, in particular those where we got together with our friends and relatives. His all-time favorite destination was San Diego where we spent four family summer vacations in his last five years. He loved the scene at Mission and Pacific Beaches. He was also deeply interested in our visit to Hungary for the first time, just one year before his death, where he had the opportunity to see where his mother, Kathie, came from and to meet many warm Hungarian relatives.
At the time of his death on April 9, 2008, Sam was two months shy of graduating from the eighth grade. His death left a tremendous hole in our lives and in the lives of his two younger sisters, Michelle and Natalie. Just a few months before his death, Sam and Michelle jointly celebrated their bar and bat mitzvahs in November of 2007. Being less than a year apart in age and always close friends, it was their choice to mark this milestone in their lives together. That day was very special for Sam and truly a shining moment in his brief life.