Janice H. Sams died peacefully in Eureka on September 29, 2022. She was 88 years old.

Janice was born in Myrtle Point, Oregon to Fred and Dorothy Hollister in 1934. She was the eldest of 4 children with younger siblings Carol, Don and Diane. She graduated from Springfield High School in 1952, went on to attend the University of Oregon and studied Biology/Medical Technology.

She met David Sams on a blind date in 1953 and they married the following year, just as David was heading off to the war in Korea. When David returned, he accepted a teaching position in Springfield, Oregon and taught there for three years. Their first son, Jerry was born in 1957 and Phil followed in 1960. David applied for and accepted a position at Ferndale High School teaching Art in 1961, and their lives were changed forever. Many of their lifelong friendships were formed during those early years of teaching, including with Dottie and Bob Riffenburg, Bruce and Nelda Palmer, Errol and Myrna Summy and many others. Two more sons arrived, Steve in 1962 and Pat in 1964 and their family was complete. Luckily, the houses in Ferndale were a perfect fit for their large and active family. Janice and David rented their first home at Market Street in Ferndale from Don Clausen’s mother, Marie and lived there for two years, then moved to a mansion at Main and Van Ness where they spent another two years, then purchased their first home in 1968, a beautiful Victorian on Shaw Avenue where they spent the rest of their time in Ferndale.

Janice was a wonderful writer. Her own mother’s saved letters tell the story of an active mom raising four busy boys with diverse interests and talents. Many a weekend was spent running them in four different directions, from Scotia to McKinleyville for school and extra-curricular events. Janice was very active in Ferndale and was a founding member of the Ferndale Community Choir, another source of lifelong friends including Betty Diehl and Beverly Carlson. She sang with the Choir for over 40 years. Janice’s faith in God was a cornerstone of her life. She attended Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Ferndale where she sang in the Choir, went to Bible Study, helped with potlucks, Sunday School, Christmas Pageants and attended the Lutheran Women’s Retreat in Miranda each year. In 1977, she went to work at Eureka Family Practice as the in-house Lab Technologist. She poked the arms of many patients and was appreciated for her phlebotomy skills and gentle hand with a needle. David worried about Janice commuting back and forth from Ferndale to Eureka, so they sold their Ferndale home and agreed on a place in Cutten with enough property to add a garage and create the nest where they would spend the next 30 years and they were happy there. Janice continued to work and was very active and served as President of the local chapter of the California Medical Assistants Association and trained many future Phlebotomists.

She loved having her family together and hosted Family Dinner every Sunday night for years before agreeing to every other Sunday to accommodate busy kids and grandkids. Janice was a wonderful cook and baker, renowned for her Red Velvet Cake which was the center of every family holiday, including Thanksgiving and Christmas. Singing Christmas Carols with son Phil on the piano was another treasured family tradition. Four sons meant four daughters-in-law and Janice loved and cared for each one of them, as they did for her. Six grandchildren followed and Janice enjoyed sewing for them all, including Halloween costumes and pajamas at Christmas.

Janice retired in 2001. She and David enjoyed countless travels, including pursuing David’s love of old cars and vintage license plates, and visiting friends from their early days in Oregon. In 2017, she and David moved to Alder Bay where she was content to spend her remaining years. Looking back, there were not many unhappy days.

She is survived by her husband of 68 years, David Sams and sons Jerry (Carrie), Phil (Lani) and Steve (Elaine), grandchildren Emily (Jonah), Matthew, Lucas (Ashley) Stephanie (Tristan), Kelly (Tyler), David (Ariel) and great-granddaughters, Jude and Maya, sister Diane and brother Don. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister, Carol and by her beloved son, Patrick Sams.

A celebration of Janice’s life will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, October 23rd at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Ferndale with a luncheon immediately following.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Janice Sams’ loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.