Sam Woodruff: 28 de febrero de 1949 - 12 de noviembre de 2012
Nota del editor: Este homenaje fue escrito por George Fischer, pareja de Sam Woodruff por muchos años. George nos envió la foto de él con Sam. Las otras fotos aquí fueron tomadas de la página de Facebook de Sam, incluyendo el banner arriba, una foto que Sam comentó diciendo: “¡Esta es la foto de un hombre feliz!” (18 de abril a las 8:03 pm). La foto con los niños abajo es Sam con sus nietos, Jack y Anna Wallace, a quienes amaba mucho. La foto a la izquierda es una exhibición del arte de Sam. Si deseas agregar algo aquí, te invitamos a dejar tus comentarios y condolencias en esta página. Sam será extrañado por la comunidad de Mérida.
Sam Warren Woodruff fue asesinado la madrugada del lunes 12 de noviembre. Murió de una forma violenta que nunca debería ser el destino de nadie, y mucho menos de un alma tan amable y confiada como la suya.
Sam fue uno de esos individuos raros que nunca dijo algo malo de nadie, nunca levantó un dedo para lastimar a alguien y siempre pensó lo mejor de todos. He reunido mis pensamientos sobre este hombre y me siento honrado de poder compartirlos contigo.
A mi buen amigo Sam:
Pensé en ti hoy cuando salió el sol. En realidad, he pensado en ti todos los días durante casi 20 años. Hemos vivido y amado juntos como hermanos y compartido tantas cosas buenas en la vida. Enriqueciste mi vida y la de mi madre, María Luisa también. La cuidaste como un hijo y marcaste una gran diferencia en su vida, como lo hiciste en la mía.
Tú y yo, éramos tan diferentes en muchas maneras, Sam. Tuvimos tiempos difíciles, pero nuestra amistad sobrevivió. Tú empujándome a abrirme, a relajarme, a disfrutar todas las cosas maravillosas y divertidas de la vida. A correr, gritar y cantar sin reservas. Y yo, tratando de controlarte un poco, siguiendo tus pasos para recoger algunas de las cosas que esparciste al viento. Siempre, mirando hacia adelante para ver si había algo en el camino que pudiera lastimarte. Tú adelante, sonriendo y riendo, animándome a correr.
Ahora te has ido. Alguna persona sin nombre y sin vergüenza te arrebató la vida, tu futuro y nuestra alegría. Bueno, nada podrá lastimarte otra vez, Sam, y mi trabajo de cuidarte está casi terminado.
Dejas atrás a un montón de amigos que te aman y se preocupan por ti… tu legado es tu sonrisa, tu gentileza y tu completa honestidad con los que estuvieron en tu vida. Un amigo te preguntó una vez cómo te gustaría ser recordado, y dijiste: “Quiero ser recordado como un artista viejo y excéntrico.”
Eso fuiste, mi querido Sam. Viviste la vida al máximo y enriqueciste las muchas vidas que tocaste durante tu camino de 63 años.
Adiós, mi querido amigo, Sam el hombre.
Mira el servicio memorial de Sam en video aquí.
Comments
Reg Deneau 13 years ago
We first met Sam before we came down from Canada in 2004. Upon our arrival he and George took us into their home and made us feel welcome. Over the years we have spent many happy times at various functions. Every day we sit at the dining room table and chairs we bought from them when they sold the house in Centro. Through them our lives have been enriched. Our hearts go out to his family and his beloved grandchildren. He was so proud of them. He will continue to paint sunsets in the sky for us all to enjoy!
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Working Gringos 13 years ago
(We corrected it for you... )
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Bobby Waggoner 13 years ago
Sorry, for the above comment with reference to George instead of Sam. I knew Sam & George when they lived in Atlanta and thought of them as one. This tragic news has obviously shaken me.
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Bobby Waggoner 13 years ago
We will miss you Sam!!!!
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Bobby Waggoner 13 years ago
Such a tragedy and great loss to our world and community! Sam lived such an enriched life and was blessed with so many wonderful friends and family. He will certainly be missed.
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jose matu 13 years ago
En esta vida hay personas que valen la pena tratar y recordar. Sam, siempre te recordare como la gran pesona que eres. Estes donde estes... se que estas bien.
(Editor's attempt at translation: In this life, there are people that it is worth knowing and remembering. Sam, I will always remember you as the great person that you were. You are wherever you are... I know that you are well.)
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Florence Puente 13 years ago
I am so sorry to read this! It makes me so sad that people can hurt each other so violently! May God grant his friends and family peace. This year was my second vacation to Merida and the Yucatan which I love. I went with friends that were very hesitant to go due to concerns of safety, but I got them hooked. I did notice more crowding this year and the streets not as clean.I was informed by a cab driver that the population had grown by 40.000 due to Mexicans from other parts of the country moving to Yucatan because it is safer. My plan was to purchase and move full time, but I have something thinking to do now. Sam, rest in peace nd may God and his angel be with you!
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Rebecca Woodruff White 13 years ago
Of the five of us...Me first, Donna...10 months later, my brother...3 years later, Sammy...a few months later and Norma...a couple years later...Sammy was the happiest. He was always smiling, laughing, getting into some kind of mischief. He loved playing mischievous little jokes on people...especially the four of us! First cousins, our dads were brothers, we lived just a few feet from each other, we were in each other's houses and yards and lives on a minute to minute basis...our lives so entertwined as to be more like brothers and sisters than cousions...24 hours a day until we grew up and went our separate ways.
Growing up on the farm, getting our educations the 'old fashioned' way (the BEST way) we had a BLAST! We all had to work hard but we played just as hard and maybe harder than we worked. I remember Sammy as that laughing, running, playing, working, mischievous skinny little boy everyone loved. If we all got into trouble, Sammy was usually the one who went unscathed but we didn't care...we just went ahead and got right back into trouble again!
The world is not as good a place now as it was when Sammy (as I will always remember him) was in it. What a shame his countenance will no longer shine on the rest of us...we will be the worse off because of it. It is us who will suffer...as someone else said, "Sam now has his wings!" It will be good when we get our wings and can be with him again.
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Bill S. - ATL 13 years ago
I was saddened to learn of this tradegy. From reading this article and the
other comments, Sam had a wonderful, creative, and meaningful life. He
will always be remembered and will always be missed.
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Working Gringos 13 years ago
Thank you, Christine and everyone for your stories about Sam. We are sure that his family appreciates this, and we know that his friends do, ourselves included.
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Christine Muth 13 years ago
Sam lived near us on the beach in Chelem/Chuburna. He was always up and down the roads in his VW convertible, with either Emiliano's massage table in the back seat, or some of his pictures! I saw him one day at Home Depot, he taught me what fertilizers to get for my plants. We were both gardeners and loved flowering bushes. The first artists market we were at together, I was shy and Sam just took me under his wing, showed me the ropes, told me what to charge, and we were friends from that day on. He was a wonderful friend of mine. He helped my friends up here in Chelem get the Artisans de la Playa up and running, was the "muscle" they needed to make their dreams come true. Friday night before he died, he was the MC at a fundraiser at the Gallery in Chelem. Everyone was so happy that night and my last memory of him was offering to relieve him so he could eat dinner and he wasn't worried, there would be plenty for him. At our tribute to Sam here in Chelem, POSITIVE PERSON was the word I heard the most to describe Sam. Smiling, energetic, and never looked back on the hardships (and there were many) in his life. He LOVED being reunited with his Son and meeting his Grandchildren. "It is a miracle" he told me and I believed him. I've never known anyone personally to have died a violent death and it saddens me that Sam's last hours were not happy and positive as his authentic self was. I'll always remember his tie dyed funky pants and tee shirt and his big, warm arms giving me a hug.
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