Sandra Caralee (Martin) “Sam” Hood, 72, of South Bend, WA passed peacefully of complications from lung cancer on August 17th, 2011 with her family by her side at Portland Adventist Medical Center in Portland, OR.
Sam was born to Emma “Toni” Zelma Gorton and Carol Owen Martin in White Salmon, WA on September 27th, 1938. She attended The Academy, a Catholic boarding school in Vancouver, WA for 6 years until high school and liked to say she was “raised by nuns”. She graduated from Tillamook High School in 1957. She attended Portland State University before marrying Robert Meadors and moving to Taiwan, during his military service. Later she married Robert Hood, DDM and lived in Portland (Troutdale), OR. Later she lived with her children in Vancouver (Orchards), WA. At 62, Sam completed the final requirements to earn a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
Sam lived her life fully and was a genuine and generous free spirit. She was extremely proud of her Native American ancestry and spent many years celebrating, learning, teaching and embracing this heritage. She also cherished her Irish lineage. One of the highlights of her life was bicycling Ireland with her longtime friend Maryann Plemmons. She never missed the opportunity to speak to an Irishman; the mere sound of bag pipes touched the heart of her soul and made her joyously tearful. Sam had a gift for making friends wherever she went. She touched the lives of many people all over the world and was touched by them as well.
Sam’s accomplishments and interests were as diverse as her occupations. She taught swimming, worked as a lifeguard and as a car hop on roller skates! With her company Hood House, she worked as a fine & graphic artist, a wood carver, a scrimshander and a jewelry maker. Sam worked as a substance abuse counselor on a Native reservation, an art teacher & therapist and for Volunteers in Service to America. She also owned and operated a deli, an ice cream parlor and a nail salon. Sam spent many years working for the Ketchikan Correctional Center, in Ketchikan, AK a maximum security facility, which she loving referred to as “Ketchikan Community College”. She worked directly and (not surprisingly) fearlessly with the inmates; she started a library, tutored and proctored testing for G.E.D., created an art therapy program and facilitated group therapy. At 53, Sam was the oldest Peace Corp volunteer in their history; and for almost two years, she immersed herself in the remote villages in northeastern Thailand where she taught subsistence farming, and silk worm production as an alternative to opium poppy growing. Before retiring, she again worked as a substance abuse counselor at Shoalwater Bay Wellness Center in Tokeland, WA. For retirement she opened Sam’s Place, where she enjoyed weaving on her looms and selling rugs. Sam recently completed writing and illustrating a children’s book called “Owl”, which will be published posthumously.
Sam is survived by her son Shawn Robert Meadors; daughters Hollyann, Stacie Lynn & Darcy Noel Hood; grandson Robert Meadors; step father James T. Hansky; sisters Tonya Stebbeds, Linda Anderson & Jana Cooley; nephews Steve Hood, Chad, Kyle & Reid Anderson and Jesse Cooley; nieces Julie Huffman, Kristen White, Jasmin Acker & Desirée Cooley. She is preceded in death by her mother Emma “Toni” Hansky; father Carol Owen Martin; step mother Edith Martin; and dear friend Therese “T. Rose” Telfer.
We will be celebrating Sam’s life from 3pm on August 28th, 2011 at Bridal Veil Lakes in Corbett, OR, please RSVP by any means and visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/samhood for updated information.
Remembrance donations can be made to: Alaska Conservation Foundation or
SMART, Making Oregon Kids Confident Readers
Arrangements under the direction of Ross Hollywood Chapel & Killingsworth St. John's Lombard Little Chapel of the Chimes, Portland, OR.
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