Memories of Sam

Memories of Sam

 

Samuel Liew 8th March 2016 – 8th May 2021

 

‘To the world a little boy, to us the world. Briefly in our lives, forever in our hearts.’

 

Our beautiful Sam was with us for five precious years, and we have just so many wonderful memories which we will treasure for ever. He made a lasting impression on everyone he met. Even as a young toddler Sam seemed old beyond his years, very knowing and as his mummy Rachel said,

 

‘I soon realised I wasn’t teaching Sam, he was teaching me.’

 

Sam showed a real fascination with anything in the outdoor world - plants, animals, sticks and stones alike. His inquisitiveness and sense of fun was truly infectious.

It is impossible to truly capture Sam’s spirit in a few words. However, in this section of our website we have shared memories gathered from some of the family, friends and teachers who were lucky enough to have had Sam in their lives and we hope it gives you a picture of what a truly special little boy Sam was. A summary of these memories is captured below.

 

• Sam enjoyed the simple things in life: picking up a stick and using his imagination so that it could be anything he wanted it to be; walking slowly through open fields marvelling at the nature around him; building train tracks, dancing to the music at the end of the films, giving cuddles and kisses at random moments, belly laughs at stupid jokes… the list of the pleasures Sam found in so many aspects of life was endless.

 

• Sam was never happier than when he had his wellies on, splashing in puddles or even the sea. He loved visiting the beach whenever he was in Blackpool whatever the weather he would love to dig and fill his bucket with sand and always collected lots of stones.  His fascination with nature was infectious his Nana didn’t realise what pleasure could be found from watching a snail crawl along until Sam showed her!

 

• Sam  absolutely loved animals and they loved him. Daisy, his black Labrador and Sam were inseparable. Everywhere Sam went, Daisy went too and vice versa. They both used to climb on their mummy's bed every morning for their family cuddle. Daisy started her unofficial therapy dog journey when Sam was in hospital, visiting him and sitting by his bedside.  

 

• Sam was super fit and took part in so many activities with his Daddy Jim, who Sam absolutely adored, including: swimming, walking (he was a fabulous walker and could get up the hill faster than lots of adults); camping and riding his bike. Sam was so proud when he mastered this skill and loved riding his bike to school.   

 

• Sam was musical and had a fabulous sense of rhythm. He used to play his guitar, drums and piano with gusto and would regularly sing songs that he had made up with his mummy. He was fascinated watching his Grandpa play the piano and especially loved Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and would sing it with Grandpa twinkling his fingers in the air beautifully. After Sam passed, his mummy, Rachel wrote some new words to Twinkle Twinkle the song can be found on our website – do listen (it is sung beautifully by Sarah Munro) and enjoy watching some wonderful photos of Sam.

 

• Sam was a very early talker and said Mama for the first time at just 6 months old – soon he had a huge vocabulary at his finger tips. As Becky one of his mummy’s NCT friends said, ‘When all the other babies were still talking ‘goo-goo’ and ‘gaga’ Sam was having proper conversations.’ His thirst for learning continued at school where he was described as; ‘Imaginative, eloquent and playful, contributing fantastic ideas for games and scenarios.’

 

• Sam absolutely adored his Naina and Kung Kung and they adored him. Sam used to spend many happy hours with them and loved playing with the train track alongside his Kung Kung. He was so proud when he performed his Lion Dance for his classmates for Chinese New Year and shared some of his cultural roots. It made a lasting impression and his friends still talk about this now.

 

• Sam had adventurous taste in food for someone so young and would eat anything and everything. He had a real love of olives - just couldn’t get enough of them and another absolute favourite was watermelon – everyone always made sure their fridge was full of olives and watermelon if Sam was coming to stay!

 

• Sam loved Superheroes from a young age and was never happier than when he was dressed as his favourite Superhero at that time. Little did we know that Sam would actually turn into a real life super hero himself. Our charity name 'Sam’s Superheroes' couldn’t be more apt.

 

• Above all, as Sam’s nursery and school emphasised Sam was a very kind and caring boy. He was popular with his peers, so much so, that his classmates chose to keep his mini-me to play with in the small world so he was still included in his games. His kindness towards other permeated everything he did.

 

sams memory page