Samuel M. Samuelian Jr.

SAMUEL M. SAMUELIAN, JR.

CELEBRATION OF LIFE

Music was a big part of Sam’s life and his favorite song was “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”.  Now he literally is somewhere over that rainbow and is resting in peace!  He died unexpectedly of a heart attack at the age of 77.  

Sam was born on January 27, 1949 and was the first child of Samuel and Arpine (Terjanian) Samuelian.  He resided in Upper Darby with his parents and was a bachelor for many years until he finally married.  Besides being a caring, loyal, and fun loving son, he loved to eat, and his Mom’s famous madzoon (yogurt) soup was something he enjoyed having every morning for breakfast. After he married, he made sure to call his parents every day. He was a good student in school and made honor roll and distinguished honor roll. Sam graduated from Upper Darby High School in 1966 and attended Temple University for 4 years, getting his degree in communications. He was a man of many talents, many interests, and many hobbies, as written below.

One of his favorite things to do in life was to sing!  He was blessed with a beautiful bass voice and was very involved in singing groups like the Spencer T. Videon & Son Boys Choir and the Beverly Hills Jr. High School Boys’ Glee Club with his beloved choir master, Mr. Ralston.  He joined the Upper Darby High School Chorus and was a member of their Concert Choir, under the direction of another beloved director, Mr. Dengler.  And he was elected president of the Choir.  He received many awards during these years and was chosen to have the first chair of the second bass section of the Southeastern District of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association.  And in college, he was a member of the Temple University Concert Choir.  He also sang in St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church Choir with director Betty Sadjian, and the Knar Armenian Choral Group under Arsen Sayan.  He studied piano at the Drexel Hill Conservatory of Music with Mr. Yacoubian.

He loved anything mechanical or electronic and this included musical instruments and antiques.  He first worked at Lafayette Radio Electronics in West Chester where he bought his stereo system.  Everything had to be top quality with Sam and he was very particular about researching and selecting only the best.  Consumer Reports was an often sought out resource.  He filled the house with so many different kinds of victrolas, antique record players, antique musical instruments such as a player piano, and a modern record player along with a very extensive collection of records.  Music was always being played everywhere in the house and he insisted on it being very loud.  His favorite singers were Mario Lanza, Caruso, and Frank Sinatra, but Maria Lanza was always very near and dear to his heart.  He joined the Friends of Lanza club and acquired many collectibles including statues, books, clothing, and much more.  He also became a member of the AMICA, Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors Association.

Sam was a collector and made his living most of his life being self-employed.  Sam’s grandmother, Antaram Terjanian, took him to a flea market when he was very young and it was there that he fell in love with collecting things.  He enjoyed going to local thrift stores like St. Ignatius as well as ones far away like Renninger.  He became a member of the Antique Wireless Association and was fascinated in collecting radios.  Because he was a handy man, he often repaired the things that he bought such as radios, clocks and watches.  He became interested in collecting motion lamps and had hundreds of them in his house!  He and Anna authored and illustrated the only Motion Lamp book on the market.  He collected art for a while and focused on making reprints from the artist Icart.  When he collected microphones, he joked that this was appropriate because his middle name was Michael (Mike).  In his younger years, he restored his beloved 1950 Pontiac which his father bought after he was born.  He worked at his beloved uncle, Bill Mason’s shop to do the restorations.  He also rebuilt his player piano.

And yet another big hobby of Sam’s was films, and as can be expected, he had a vast collection of them. He worked in the Film Library at Temple University for many years.  His first owned feature film was “Way Out West” starring Laurel and Hardy.  He then of course joined their Sons of the Desert club, his branch being the Two Tars Tent in Philadelphia.  His all time favorite movie though was “Wizard of Oz”.  And as they say in the film industry….that’s not all Folks!….as he then became a dealer of films for a very long time.

Needless to say, Sam lived quite the life and was so multi- talented.  He loved composing essays, critiques, reports, researching topics and writing about them.  He always expressed his opinions, whether it was to compliment or to improve something.  He was also an avid reader and knew so much about anything associated with the above hobbies.  

All his life, Sam had a love for cats and dogs.  He had several different cats over the years and all of them were named Tiger, except the last one, who for some reason, was named Tiffany.  He was also Daddy to his delightful dogs named Nipper, Sheena, Zenaida, and Buddy.

Sam married Anna Arakelian Samuelian in 1990 at the ripe age of 41!  Sam and Anna moved into their lovely home in Upper Providence.  They had many things in common such as singing, antiquing, and dining.  They created the stage name Stardust and both performed at senior centers and restaurants, including singing “Under The Stars” in Media.  One year they performed at the Rose Tree Park for a summer show.  Their house included a state of the art movie theater with a wall to wall extra large screen, and an organ.  He had a collection of thousands of DVD’s as well as countless other collectibles and musical instruments.  He was an avid Karaoke singer and enjoyed going out and eating food, especially Italian food!  He enjoyed living to the fullest and in his younger years of marriage, would often go to the movies, go out to dinner, and then go to a live theater show, all in the same day!  Sam met many famous people in his life including Margaret Hamilton, the wicked witch from The Wizard Of Oz, celebrity Dick Van Dyke, singer Rosemary Clooney, and actress Penny Marshall from Laverne and Shirley.  The last “love” that Sam had in his later years was to own a Tesla and his wish to own one before he died did indeed came true!

Sam loved his family and was a kind person.  Christmas was his favorite holiday and he played Santa by buying lots and lots of presents for all of his family members.  Socially, he was the life of a party and had an outgoing personality.  He loved being named “The Entertainer” and dressed the part with his fancy jackets, top hat, and accessories.  He charmed his way into everyone’s heart through his beautiful bass voice and his personality was larger than life.  He will be missed!

Sam is survived by his sister Arlene Jilozian, brother-in-law Hrant, nephew Edward, and niece Ani.  He is also survived by many cousins.  From his maternal side: the Mason family included Carol (Cookie), Barbara, and Suzie and the Terjanian family included Steven (deceased), David, Susan, and Debi.  From his paternal side: the Samuelian family included Michael (deceased), Linda, George, and Paul and the Zobian family included Joseph, Matthew, Ted, and David.  Also important to mention are his ex-wife Anna and his best man and lifelong friend Dennis Scherlacker.

In closing, his mantra song that he sang everywhere at Karaoke places was the famous song “I Did It My Way” sung by Frank Sinatra.  For most of his life, Sam did indeed do everything his way!  May God bless his soul and may he rest in peace. 

ILOF can be sent to:

Armenian Martyrs Congregational Church 

     100 N. Edmonds Avenue

     Havertown, PA.  19083

     610-446-3330

St. Gregory The Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church

    8701 Ridge Avenue

     Philadelphia, PA.  19128

     215-482-9200

Upper Darby Arts & Education Foundation

     1051 Pontiac Road, # 707

     Drexel Hill, PA.  19026

     610-321-3535

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