Donate in memory of Mark Samuels aka Hardold Youngsamoles

Hi Everyone. This GoFundMe will be raising funds for Mark Samuels - for his cremation, Celebration of Life, or whatever party we throw in his honor. My name is Nick Normal and I was Mark's friend, neighbor, and ultimately his medical surrogate during his final days. There's no 'manual' for the grieving process and I've never built a GoFundMe memorial page before so please bear with me as we go through this together. My goal here is to be as transparent as possible with costs and process, while we move towards whatever closure we can get from this platform. I think we all understand Mark was very much 'in real life' and lived his life in his own world, and operated at his own pace. There's ROMO Mark. There's Boathouse Mark. There's crazy bike Mark. There's doodle on a napkin Mark. There's wacky hat Mark. There are so many Marks and they were all so very wonderful!

Be sure to leave a memo on Mark's 'Hardold Youngsamoles' Facebook wall if you haven't already. There's also a Facebook group thread where many friends are sharing stories and memories. Reach out to me if you'd like to be added to it.

In the hopes of getting this fundraiser link out there asap I'm going to press publish momentarily and edit/update later, but also wanted to give some breakdown of the costs requested. GoFundMe says that memorial pages typically aim for $12K. I don't know what's required and no money will bring Mark back, so that's not the point. Those who have seen my post on the Facebook group thread (pasted below) know I've consulted Drago Funeral Home on 30th Avenue in Astoria, Queens; I also consulted Farenga on Ditmars Boulevard. For all intents they are the same service, so for clarity I will simply use Drago by name. The breakdown of costs listed below assumes no memorial at their facility - costs are for cremation and processing only. I believe this is what we should aim for, and any additional funds can go towards some Celebration at any time of our choosing - not held at a funeral home! (We should also consider the costs of looking after Mark's cat and its care.)

Drago's basic breakdown is - again this is for transport & cremation only:

$1695 for cremation

$500 charge for Adult

$600 NY permit fee

That's a very reasonable $2795. Drago also said there is a $15 charge for each Death Certificate requested. So I put $3K as the target goal for this fundraiser, and anything extra we can figure out what to do with.

Mark passed away at approximately 1:42AM on Thursday, August 21st, 2025. Mark 'all purpose plastic re-purposer' Samuels was 71. (According to Facebook, Hardold was 48!)

Drago have advised that Mark's body is likely at the City morgue by now (August 26th), likely in Queens but TBD (there are facilities in Brooklyn & Manhattan as well). There will likely be 'hidden costs' associated with transport, storage, etc. but without knowing them I cannot post them. This is simply the process we are all working with.

I think there's broad agreement that some or all of Mark's ashes could be spread at Davis Park where he brought so many of us together and spent so much time himself. I think that's a beautiful idea that we can plan towards in the future. It is my goal and hope to raise the necessary funds as quickly as possibly simply to transport and cremate his body. What we do and when we do what with his remains can always come later. The cremation only provides the ashes in what they call a 'temporary container' or 'TC' - it does not include any urn. Again there will ultimately be 'hidden costs.'

Also please note I am ultimately running all 'top level' details by Christine, Mark's sister, to receive her blessing on.

Please give what you can considering all of this information and your own experiences with the death of loved ones.

I honestly don't know what comes next but I know it will include great memories of Mark Samuels.

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Lastly, the text below was the update I gave to the Facebook group about Mark's admission to and final days in hospital. It may help some with closure or understanding where he was near the end - I hope he knew he was loved and we were with him in spirit even if we couldn't all be there in person. Rest in peace my dude.

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Hi Everyone. Thanks for your patience. Lots to take in here. Hope to clear up some things. I'll start with the timeline as I understand it - along with lots of medical stuff. Mark walked into Jamaica Hospital Medical Center on August 13th. (I would say he was ~30 lbs. lighter than any of us remember him. He was thin.) They quickly realized they would be unable to treat him and transferred him to Bellevue Medical Center on 1st Ave in Manhattan; by the time he got to Bellevue he was unconscious, knocked out - he did not declare any contact. The medical staff started treatment immediately and began going through his phone's contacts. I got a call from them using Mark's phone at 1:48PM on Thursday August 14th. By ~4:30PM or so I was in the hospital at his side and chatting with staff to figure out next steps. At this point he had been at Bellevue for a half-day or so. He was on 7 assistive devices including a ventilator. The primary cause of his collapse was a pocket of fluid in his chest that put pressure on his left lung. The pocket of fluid was around a liter and was a growth of unknown time (more on this later). His first full day in hospital was tough - no eye or body movement, he was contorted, non-responsive. The next day (Friday 15th) he looked great! He was down from 7 assistive devices to 1 and he looked physically comfortable and relaxed. We put on the radio to stir his mind and keep him thinking - hoping he could hear it, and us. There was minimal movement and medical staff said his numbers and vitals were all improving. Great! I was unable to get to Bellevue on Saturday 16th due to a memorial (of a mutual friend) but in this window of time, with Patty's assistance, we were able to track down Christine (and Madeline). Christine authorized me to be medical surrogate in her proxy and I began keeping close contact with Christine (and Madeline) via SMS. The medical staff at Bellevue are fucking heroes & heroines! They were amazing. Everyone knew so much information and they provided that information clearly and succinctly. Everyone gave so much care - honestly some of the best medical staff I've ever seen. Mark was in great hands! However Sunday 17th through Wednesday 20th was basically going downhill, slowly. Around Monday 18th Mark started having good eye movement, but never for more than 10-15 seconds at a time before slipping back asleep. He started to have some hand movement but his body had begun to physically collapse. Blood was not getting to his feet and there was talk of amputation if need be, else necrosis sets in. During this time medical staff said he had concurrent organ failure, and was back up to multiple assistive medical devices. His stomach, kidneys, brain, lungs, and skin were all simultaneously failing. Going back briefly to that initial pocket of fluid compressing his left lung, medical staff said it was the largest they had seen in their careers; they also said it could have been there for years, slowly developing and growing. It began this whole process of sending his body into shock and eventually shutting down. I got the call from Bellevue at ~1:49AM Thursday August 21st that Mark had passed several minutes prior. I only hope he knows he was loved and I hope he didn't suffer in those final moments, which no doubt were physically tough and tough on his mind most of all, which loved reading the New York Times, doing the daily crossword, and connecting dots between stories both in his mind and between all of us as people.

Saturday and Sunday this past weekend I consulted two funeral homes in Astoria: Drago and Farenga. They work closely together so for all intents and purposes I'll use Drago as a placeholder for 'the funeral homes.' Drago gave reassurance that Mark's body was likely being transported to City morgue on Sunday the 24th. Drago gave reassurance that bodies can remain in storage for some time - even for many months - before the City processes all the necessary paperwork to have remains buried on Hart Island, if unclaimed. This will NOT be the case. I gave many details to Drago - Mark's DOB, last known address, Christine's number, etc. so they can find Mark's person for storage and eventual cremation. I will use Drago as it is a short stroll from the neighborhood where Mark & I lived (Dutch Kills in LIC). The prices are reasonable. I will establish a GoFundMe - I have to read through some of their documentation so please standby - and will post dollar amounts and processes there. We will have some memorial and I think the collective un/conscious agreement is some ashes should be scattered at Davis Park, absolutely. We will find a time - when we get to that stage. Mark's phone and any other possessions he had are also with the City morgue, and will be transported to Drago when cremation is prepared for and signed off on. Mark left behind some artifacts at the house he was crashing at in Queens but nothing at my place where he was also occassionally crashing. Mark did leave behind a cat and some of us are trying to secure that situation as well. I'm unclear of the status of his former apartment but that's another angle I'm working in my spare time to try and resolve. Please note I work at a college and classes begin tomorrow - I'll try to be as responsive as possible but also prefer mass communications where everyone can get the same information - I will prioritize GoFundMe for top-level updates. I've only skimmed the previous memos but will go back through them shortly to begin collecting thoughts and details.

We all know Mark as artist but damn was he a great person. A really truly unique human being. But fuck I wish he had gone and received a checkup anytime recently. He just wouldn't do it. Fucking free to the very end. Fuck! I do miss him and will miss him. I hope this update helps you all in some way and we will remember him together soon.

"FEED THE BIRDS!"