To his brother and sister, to his sons and daughter, to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and to you - his friends, I bring a message about and from Valentine Alexandrovitch Samouceskitskivitch, or Wellington Alexander Samouce, or, as we all know him, Sammy.
I bring you a message of love because Sammy so loved life and the abundance that life has to offer. And he made the most of life. More than comes to most of us.
I bring you the story of his love of religion, a love not known by all of you because, to Sammy, religion was a very personal thing. Sammy was born into the Russian Orthodox Church. On moving to the New World, Sammy attended the Greek Orthodox Church because of his great need for religion, and because of the ministries of his wives, Sammy embraced the Roman Catholic Church. And here we are today with him in the Holy Mass. Yes, Sammy had more religion than comes to most of us.
I bring you the story of Sammy's love for his country. Sammy had two countries. He loved his first country, the country of his birth, the Ukraine. And Sammy's love for the Ukraine caused him deep grief because of atrocities committed against the Ukraine during most of Sammy's life. But Sammy loved his adopted country, the United States even more. He loved it so much he devoted his entire career to the service of his nation. He was justly proud of the service, perhaps he was proudest of his contributions to the successful conclusion of the great Second World War. Even after his retirement Sammy remained true to his Alma Mater, West Point, and to its creed, "Duty, Honor, Country." Sammy remained forever a true patriot. If Sammy had one favorite song, it was "God Bless America." Yes, Sammy had more country than comes to most of us.
I want to remember with you Sammy's great love for horses because this love exemplifies the way Sammy approached all of the opportunities of life. Sammy was not content to be Master of the Hounds; he was not content to be Chief of Advanced Equitation; he was not content to be a fierce polo player; and he was not content to master jumping. No, in addition Sammy volunteered to teach the ladies the fine art of horsemanship. Sammy made the most of opportunities that presented themselves. And Sammy made more than comes to most of us.
I must tell the story of Sammy's two greatest loves - Lillie and Erica. He loved each and each experienced with him the love and excitement of life until death did them part. Sammy loved each deeply and differently. Yes, Sammy had more than comes to most of us.
And Sammy loved what he would call his clan. He loved his two sons and his daughter and their spouses; he loved his six grandsons and four granddaughters and their spouses; and he loved his six great-grandchildren. Yes, Sammy had more than comes to most of us.
A long, long time ago, back before the computer and the facsimile machines, back before the telephone and the telegraph, back before the typewriter and the printing press, back before the scribe and the illustrator; back before all of this was THE WORD.
In those days each tribe or clan had a unique, gifted individual who listened to the stories of his great-grandfather and his grandfather and his father and passed on these stories to his sons and grandsons and great-grandsons. These gifted few were called the STORYTELLERS. And they told stories of the long ago and the far-away and tales of greatness and valor. In telling the stories, they created a moral sense, a sense of values, an understanding of the differences between good and bad and between evil and perfection.
Sammy sprang from the lineage of those ancient storytellers. He perfected the techniques of the long ago and far-away and the tales of greatness and valor. In telling us his stories, he also imparted to us a moral sense of value. He has helped each of us understand better about good and bad and evil and perfection. Sammy was a STORYTELLER and all of us will remember many of his stories but none of us has heard his final story.
I bring you a message from Sammy. If you will please rise. In the name of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost. May you live your life so that some day in the future, you can again sit down with Sammy and listen to his newest story.
Amen
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