Jim Sam Camp

Jim Sam Camp, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, passed away while surrounded by his family on the 18th of November 2023, in Houston, Texas. He was preceded in death by his father, the late William Keith Camp, and his mother, the late Lucile Prewit Camp. He was 88 years of age.

Jim Sam lived his entire life as a proud Texan. He was born on the 1st of December 1934, in Pecos, Texas, where he was delivered by his grandfather, Dr. Jim Camp, a pioneer West Texas physician, at Camp Hospital, the first medical hospital established in the Pecos Valley region.

Jim Sam graduated from Pecos High School as a 3-year letterman on the Pecos Eagles football team. He was also a 4-year letterman on the high school tennis team, of which he was captain his senior year. Additionally, Jim Sam was the President of his junior and senior high school classes. He also sang in his school choir.

In his youth, Jim Sam was actively involved with the Boy Scouts of America. He spoke fondly of riding the train from Pecos all the way to Washington, D.C. in order to attend a memorable Jamboree Conference with the West Texas Council of Boy Scouts.

Jim Sam started his college journey in the honors program at Texas Christian University and played on the TCU tennis team during his freshman year. After taking summer school classes at The University of Colorado in Boulder, he fell in love with the Rocky Mountains and transferred to CU as an incoming sophomore, where he pledged his beloved Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) Fraternity and made countless friends.

After perhaps having a little “too much fun” in Boulder, his parents felt that Jim Sam should come back to Texas and focus on academics, so in 1954 he heeded their advice and transferred to “The University” of Texas in order to finish his undergraduate studies. He didn’t miss a beat in connecting with brothers of UT’s Fiji chapter, with many of them becoming lifelong friends.

Jim Sam graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin in 1958. He was an Officer Candidate at the U.S. Army Officer School (OCS) during the Korean War and concluded his service to our country after having served as a Captain in the U.S. Army National Guard.

Jim Sam returned to Austin to obtain a Masters in Business Administration in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin. When fate intervened, a friend set him up on a blind date with Margie Greer for the Fiji Valentine’s Day Dance. After Margie’s two big brothers met Jim Sam for the first time at Austin’s legendary Dirty Martin’s, they gave her the greenlight. In no time, Margie quickly became his constant confidant, “buddy,” as she often says, and the one and only true love of his life. Shortly after his graduation from business school in 1962, Jim Sam and Margie were married at St. Luke's Methodist Church in Houston, and thus began an unforgettable 61 years of marriage and devotion to each other.

Jim Sam’s first job was with T.J. Bettes Company, then one of the largest mortgage lenders in the South. He subsequently worked for the American National Insurance Company in Galveston, Texas as part of their investment department. Later, he worked for Duddlesten Companies in Houston and thereafter held senior leadership roles as head of the Texas operations of B.F. Saul Company, where he was a key player in the commercial mortgage banking business at a time when the boom years were reshaping the Houston skyline. Jim Sam’s final corporate role was as President of the Texas operations of The Philipsborn Company, a privately held commercial mortgage banking firm based in Chicago. He was fortunate enough to retire from the corporate world while still in his early fifties, and from the early-1980s onwards he focused on his true business passion, which was managing and expanding the family’s oil and gas interests in West Texas.

After moving his family to Sugar Land in 1972, Jim Sam enjoyed playing golf at Sugar Creek Country Club, where he was a founding bondholder of the club, an expert putter, and a “one under par” player.

His family fondly remembers the many seasons of little league baseball that he coached (particularly his loud voice and championships along the way). Those who were fortunate to receive his coaching came away stronger, wiser, and more capable. He could often be seen teaching his four kids how to play sports in the front yard, or, for that matter, anywhere else, but always while wearing his infamous orange polyester coaching shorts, a blue mesh collared shirt, and a burnt orange Texas Longhorns visor. The family also remembers the many summers spent boating on Lake Travis in Austin, where Jim Sam taught all four kids (and many of their friends) how to waterski. Another shared family passion subsequently became snow skiing in Park City, Utah. His voice could be heard all throughout Park City, reminding the group “to keep their weight on their downhill ski!”

After a fateful trip to Hawaii in the early 1990s, scuba diving developed into another one of Jim Sam’s passions. Once becoming a certified diver in 1992, over the next few decades he became a Master Diver, as well as an Enriched Air Nitrox-certified diver, logging well over 200 dives. As empty nesters, Jim Sam and Margie traveled all over the world to scuba dive and shop, respectively. He dove off of live-aboard dive boats in the Bahamas, the Texas Flower Gardens in the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and explored the waters off of Wakatobi, Indonesia, plus Cuba, Cozumel, Cancun, Roatan, Palau and Fiji among other places.

Jim Sam’s favorite scuba diving location, and for that matter one of his favorite places on earth, was of course Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman. After just one visit, Grand Cayman grew to become a beloved Camp Family tradition. For over 20 years, Jim Sam and Margie, as well as their children and all of their grandchildren, enjoyed every single Thanksgiving (and sometimes Christmas) in the Cayman Islands. He loved family, the beach, and the sun.

Jim Sam was a member of the First Christian Church of Pecos and subsequently joined the First Methodist Church of Sugar Land, where he sang in the church choir. He and Margie later became members of St. Luke’s Methodist Church in Houston, where their wedding had been held many years before. During the last several years, he and Margie always looked forward to watching Dr. Tom Pace’s sermons at St. Luke’s on television every Sunday.

Jim Sam was a third-generation member of the Masonic Lodge, a very proud member of the Phi Gamma Delta Alumni Association, and an enthusiastic Texas Longhorn fan. He loved watching any and all sports and enjoyed his weekly Tuesday morning men’s breakfast club at the River Oaks Country Club. His two sons, Keith and Clay, have fond memories of fishing and rafting with him in Alaska, Montana, and Canada. The boys will always cherish horseback riding with him for two days in Yellowstone National Park in order to camp out and fish on the Yellowstone River. His daughter Cathy enjoyed a memorable rafting trip along the Grand Canyon with Jim Sam. He and Margie traveled through Europe with their daughter, Susie, and loved their time together in Spain. Jim Sam was a ferocious reader and could often be found patiently reading a book in the car while in a parking lot waiting for Margie to “run a quick errand” in a store.

While happily residing at the Tradition-Woodway Retirement Community in his last years, Jim Sam reunited with old friends and made many new ones as well. He actively attended the karaoke singing group, UT and Astros game viewing parties, history lectures, dinners, and movie nights.

Jim Sam is survived by the love of his life and wife of 61 years, Margie Greer Camp, and their four children: daughter Susie Matta (and ex-husband Tony, who is still a beloved member of the extended family), and their children Tony and Margarita Matta; daughter Cathy Camp Amoruso, and husband Michael, and their children Andrew and Camille Amoruso; son Keith Camp; and son Clay Camp, and wife Kimberly Hays Camp, and their son Hays Camp. He is also survived by his sisters: Judy Camp Sauer, and her husband Henry Sauer, and Jean Camp McIntosh, and many cousins, nephews, nieces, and friends.

Jim Sam’s family would like to thank all the doctors, nurses and medical staff at the Houston Methodist Hospital and M.D. Anderson Hospital, who assisted him over the last several years. The family would also like to thank Margie’s childhood friend, Dr. Dick Stasney, for all of his extra attention and love during Jim Sam’s stays at Methodist Walter 21…including a special visit by his therapy dog, Duke. Also, the family appreciates Priscilla Brown, Marquis Richardson, Cynthia Martinez, and Shak Giva for their caregiving and unwavering support during his final years. Finally, the family would also like to recognize and express our deepest appreciation to Helen Schutz and Carolyn Beckett for their tireless work, patience, and dedication to keeping the family business running smoothly on behalf of Jim Sam and the family.

A celebration of life is to be conducted at two o'clock in the afternoon on Saturday, the 16th of December, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston. Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family and share remembrances during a reception in the adjacent grand foyer.

For those unable to attend the service, virtual attendance may be accessed by selecting the "Join Livestream" icon on the service section on Jim Sam’s memorial tribute page at www.geohlewis.com. While there you may also share fond memories and words of comfort and condolence with his family.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions please be directed to; the Houston Methodist Hospital Center for Performing Arts Medicine (CPAM) , 6565 Fannin St, Houston, TX 77030; St. Luke’s Methodist Church, 3471 Westheimer Road, Houston, TX 77027; The Brookwood Community, 1752 Farm to Market 1489, Brookshire, TX 77423; The University of Texas “UT Scholarships” Fund, P.O. Box 7458 Austin, TX 78713-7458; or the charity of your choice.