By Jolie

Hi. My name is Jolie and I met Sam at Preschool Family at age 3. Instantly I found her to be one of the most generous, caring and friendly people that I have ever know.  Our relationship blossomed over the years and Sam became one of my closest friends. Since we didn’t attend the same elementary and middle schools, we couldn’t see each other as often as we liked, but we loved texting each other and had so much fun taking theater camp together during the summers.

Sam was able to make conversation and connect with everyone. Whether you had seen Sam yesterday or two months ago, she was overjoyed to see you and together you could pick up where you last left off. She also had a great sense of humor and an infectious smile. Everyone loved her – kids and adults alike. Sam put others before herself and never hesitated to help those in need.

Sam, like the rest of her family, was very generous. She was always volunteering herself and her things to others. Once my family and I were at Sam’s house. My little sister was playing with a doll and when it came time to leave, my little sister didn’t want to part with it. Sam let her keep the doll, even though it was one of her favorites.

While I shared many fun times with Sam, one of the best memories I have was of our beloved summer tradition of AMT. AMT (standing for Ana-Maria Theatre) was a week of fun at the Howards’s house, during which we wrote a play and Ana-Maria directed it. The shows always turned out so great and I cherished being able to spend so much time together. This is a tradition that I will miss dearly.

Not only was Sam a lot of fun, she had a love of sports and theatre. She worked hard to do her best, always with a smile on her face. In honor of Sam and her passion for softball, I and the rest of my teammates on the Palo Alto Heat will be wearing a patch with Sam’s name and jersey number over our hearts to the State Championships this week.

Sam was a unique and special person and I am truly lucky to have been her friend. I miss you Sam and will think of you often. May you rest in peace. Thank you.