Millard Samarich

Millard Samarich “Sam” Dear family, friends and fellow lions; I am writing to you today to let you know about the loss of Millard (Sam). Millard had COPD and the last six months were-very trying for him. Just like the commercial, he couldn’t go further than his oxygen tube. After six visits to the hospital this year, Millard accepted Hospice Care. This was extremely hard for him because he knew his time with Angela and other family and friends was going to be very limited. At the end, it was his faith that kept him strong. Those who knew Millard well knew his life was much more than difficult than many of us. Quite frankly, I’m not sure how he did it. With the loss of his wife his high school sweetheart Cheryl in 2003, he had to endure the loss of both his children, David and Angela, a few years later. It was a heart ache greater than I could ever imagine. Millard was the kindest, most gentle person I knew. There was not one ounce of hatred in his heart. When I, (Barry, Cheryl’s brother), was involved in a bad accident, in a wheelchair and out of work for over six months, it was Millard and Cheryl who would bring groceries for my family each and every week. Many times more the he would buy for his own family. Millard loved his A-Appliance business and put his heart and soul in it but he definitely was not a shrewd businessman. He would never inflate prices to its customers. What he paid for a part is what you would pay for the part. His labor was half of what his competitors would charge. It wasn’t about the money to him; it was about helping someone out when they were in need. He would give you his last dollar if you were in need. Most family and friends knew after the loss of his son David, he went on to raise his granddaughter Angela at age 3. She was his sunshine in his life for sure. He loved her with all his heart. What you might not know is that Angela is a fellow lion. She is an honor student at the LaSalle Academy. His older sister, Aunt Mitzi, will be caring for Angela now. Many did not know how poor Millard really was. He would never ask anyone for anything, not even his family. Many find themselves without enough money for life insurance. Millard was definitely in that boat. This brings us to the reason We are asking for your help. Funeral expenses are a burden his family was not prepared for. We are absolutely devastated by Millard’s passing and are struggling to find funds to cover the cost of the service. We are hoping to raise $7,000 dollars or more if possible toward the funeral service costs. We will need to pay all funeral costs by the end of next week. We wanted to give a special thanks to Cheryl Tobolski Nowicki for starting a go fund me fundraiser for Millard’s funeral service. Here is a link:Barry Vitou  (Cheryl Vitou Samarich’s brother)