Larry Ira Samuels, 71, of Chestertown, MD, died of complications from Mesothelioma lung cancer at the Stella Maris Hospice Center in Timonium, Maryland on March 28, 2022.  A loving husband, father, father-in-law, uncle, brother, brother-in-law, and community volunteer, he is the son of the late Lester and Sunny Samuels of Loch Sheldrake, NY.  He was born August 2, 1950 in Queens, NY and spent most of his life, until the age of 62, in Brooklyn, NY before the family relocated to Chestertown in 2008.  His youth consisted of attending public schools, playing street games, working since the age of thirteen, being a Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Explorer, and serving as a Den Chief.

As an adult, he participated with his son Paul, now 26, at the local playground playing handball, bike riding, attending NBA Knicks basketball camps, traveling on various school trips including a backstage tour of the original Yankee Stadium, to the Intrepid Museum on the Hudson River, presenting a brief performance on the stage of the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, and how to drive a car.

In Brooklyn, he was the Scout Pack Cub Master, with his wife Peg serving as the WEBELOS Den Leader. He also served in Scout adult leadership positions as a certified instructor for the Youth Protection Program, New Leader Essentials, and served as a Unit Commissioner with the local District Council. He received the National District Award of Merit by the Boy Scouts of America in 2006.

With his daughter Rebecca, now 22, he attended many school trips, went to the circus, and to live theater productions. He traveled with her by car and subway to her various schools and played hopscotch at the playground; he taught her how to ride a two-wheeler and then how to drive.  While here in Chestertown, he was presented with the Father of the Year award by the Shrewsbury Parish Episcopal Church men's group in 2014.

Following graduation from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn in 1968, he attended a local community college before working for the next year as a fleet taxicab driver throughout New York City.  He then enlisted in the U.S. Navy, from 1971 – 1975 receiving an Honorable Discharge, having served on a destroyer and a destroyer escort. His rating was Boiler Tender, operating and repairing high pressure steam plants to run the ship's main engines and generators, achieving the rate of E-5 / Petty Officer 2 ^nd Class (equivalent to Sergeant in the Army). He served in this capacity in the fire rooms (boiler rooms) on these ships during combined 16-hour workdays and watch standing assignments with temperatures averaging 140 ^o F in these spaces.

While operating in the Gulf of Tonkin on station 20,000 yards offshore during Vietnam from 1972 - 1974, the ship provided Naval gunfire support for ground operations in-country, and for plane-guarding aircraft carriers' flight maneuvers. Operational readiness demanded that the ship's boilers provide continuous steam 24 hours a day, seven days a week while at sea.

With his ship homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, while not on the gunline, his time on the beach offered the opportunity for Larry and several other sailors to ride their motorcycles (stored on the base) to many different towns and cultural sites in Japan. In addition, he was able to pull liberty in several countries throughout the Far East.

Rotating back to Charleston, South Carolina in 1974 his next ship left port and circumnavigated Africa for seven months on various missions, with ports-of-calls along the east and west coasts of the continent and operating in areas throughout the Middle East.  He had crossed the equator twice and had travelled to twenty-two countries around the world as a direct result of his Naval service

Following his active duty, he worked for three years at the Brooklyn Navy Yard as a Boilermaker repairing several ships of various classes.  Returning to college under the G.I. Bill, he was graduated with an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts (AA), as well as an Associate Degree in Mechanical Technology (AAS). He also tested for and obtained a Refrigeration Machine Operator's License issued by the New York City Fire Department in 1983.

Working for the next several years including as a commercial Building Operating Engineer, as an Elevator Service Mechanic, and in HVAC equipment sales, he secured his career position in 1985 as the Facilities and Construction Coordinator for the Queens Public Library in New York City involving sixy-eight neighborhood library buildings constructed from 1903 to current year and five Adult Learning Centers. His responsibilities included writing renovation specifications, service contracts, construction grants, land use applications, budget management, providing legal testimony in response to building code violations, and making presentations at public community hearings. He retired in 2012 after 27 years and joined the family full-time in Chestertown.

Once in Chestertown, he quickly became involved in several community activities, including as a reading volunteer at Garnet Elementary School (where his daughter Rebecca had attended), and as a Character Counts! Coach at Kent County Middle School (where his son Paul had attended), and at Horizons Summer School. He was recognized for this service with presentation of the Character Counts! Coach of the Year Award in 2016 sponsored by the United Way. He also participated as a coach in the national Challenge Day / Be the Change Values program for Kent County High School students.

Beginning a retirement second career as a substitute teacher in 2013, he served for the next seven years in sixteen schools throughout Kent and Queen Anne's Counties, covering all academic, technical, and creative subjects in general and in special education classrooms. He participated with groups of students, and with individuals, responsible for monitoring several categories of student's physical and developmental disabilities for grades pre-school through high school.  He had the opportunity on several occasions to escort students to the Kent Academy of Riding Therapy (KART), to Chesapeake College for career development training and to participate in behavioral special education classes.

Other community volunteer activities in which he had served, or was still active while in Chestertown, was as the former Secretary of the Board of Directors since 2013 until 2020 for the Bayside H.O.Y.A.S., Inc. (Helping Our Youth Achieve Success), a 501(c)3 youth character development and academic mentoring program.  He served, since 2013 -2019 as the former Secretary and then as former President of the Board of Directors at Crossroads Community, Inc., a non-profit organization providing services and advocacy in five counties on the Eastern Shore for adults with mental, behavioral, and recovery health issues. He provided property management input and oversight in coordination with Crossroads administration and staff and served on committees for managing events in celebration of achievements and training.

Since 2012, he was an active participant with the Kent County Diversity Dialogue Group (DDG), staffing the informational table at Farmers Market and Tea Party for five years, with stints at the PFLAG table (Parents, Family & Friends of Lesbians & Gays).  He then transitioned to serving with the Kent County Social Action Committee for Racial Justice (SACRJ) serving on the Education Sub-committee. He was an active member of the Kent County Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), serving on the annual Scholarship Banquet and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast Committees.

He served with historic register Janes United Methodist Church in Chestertown as the volunteer Grants Administrator for roof replacement and building rehabilitation projects. He attended the local weekly Community Breakfast Group (CBG) as often as possible and had made several presentations to this organization on various subjects, as well as regularly attended the monthly Open Mic Night at the Garfield Theatre. He was featured in the RiverArts Gallery exhibit, Humans of Kent County, along with other local residents, and was highlighted with the Veterans recognition program curated by the Garfield Theater and Kent Cultural Alliance (KCA) and was a featured veteran at the Kent County Democratic Club on High Street.  In addition, he served as a Chief Election Judge at the Rock Hall Fire House for the mid-term election in 2018.

He is a Charter Member of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and served as a trained docent at Sumner Hall Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Post for the Smithsonian's traveling exhibit, The Way We Worked. He is a member of Sumner Hall and attended many programs and performances there. He served for nine years with the Legacy Day Committee, celebrating local African American history and culture, chairing the vendor sub-committee in coordination with other committee members, and in collaboration with Sumner Hall and the Historical Society.

His involvement at historic Shrewsbury Parish Episcopal Church in Kennedyville included serving as Junior Warden and then as Senior Warden of the Vestry, Cemetery Warden, and as Chair of the Property Committee. He also served overall there for ten years as an Usher, a Sunday School Teacher, a Vacation Bible School instructor, and organized and served with other Parishioners for the monthly La Sagrada de Jesus Spanish Mission dinners.

In addition, he served on the Episcopal Diocese of Easton's Property Committee, with oversight for thirty-eight parishes on the Eastern Shore, and on the Diocese of Easton's / Bishop's Property Committee for the Retreat Center at St. Paul's Church in Hillsboro, providing rehabilitation management for this vital community center and historic property.

Formally trained by the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Chester River as a Certified Facilitator under their national Our Whole Lives (OWL) program, he has presented, along with another certified member, an approved multiple session course providing teaching and guidance on human sexuality covering safety, self-respect, choices, and including all aspects of the LGBTQ community, for participating middle school-aged students.

Recognizing his overall contributions to the fabric of our community, he was presented in 2017 with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award by the Chester Valley Ministers Association (CVMA), of which he is a member.

At his former Episcopal church in Brooklyn, Epiphany and St. Simon, he served as Assistant Clerk of the Vestry, Property Committee Chair, and with his wife Peg who directed the program, served as a Sunday school teacher. He was recognized for these ministries with presentation of the Rector's Service Award in 2005.

His artistic accomplishments included the publication of four short story and essay collections under his authorship illuminating the triumphs and regrets of relationships, the intensities of emotional uncertainties, while framing these against the background of selected history. He was a contributing editor for several other published fiction and non-fiction books while participating as the coordinator for the Wordsmiths Writers Group in Chestertown.

He is survived by his wife of thirty-four years, Marguerite Anne Samuels (aka Peg), an ordained Reverend Deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Easton, currently serving at St. Paul's Church in Centreville. She is employed as a Team Lead Supervisor at The Benedictine School in Ridgley serving adults with developmental disabilities and other physical challenges. He is also survived by their son Paul Henry, his partner Hannah Marie Sturtz, daughter Rebecca Marie, and her husband David Hunter Worth. His brother Steve and sister-in-law Linda Samuels live in Croton-on-Hudson, NY, and his sister, Caren Samuels, lives in Towson. In addition, he is survived by many nieces, two nephews, a grandnephew, and a grandniece.

Among so many of his community service and family accomplishments, he was especially grateful that he had the opportunity to provide sensitive, meaningful and insightful instruction, assistance, and caring for the many student "cherubs" throughout the school systems, and for his own children. He is also grateful to all family members and health care providers at all levels who were able to provide overwhelmingly helpful and caring services during his illness. In lieu of flowers or other contributions, donations may be designated for Bayside H.O.Y.A.S., Inc., P.O. Box 6, Chestertown, MD 21620, or baysidehoyas.org.

A viewing will be held on Monday, April 4 from 10 am to 12 pm at the Galena Funeral Home of Stephen L. Schaech, 118 W. Cross St. Galena, MD, Burial with Military Honors will follow at 12:30 pm in Shrewsbury Cemetery, Kennedyville, MD, with his celebration of life service at 1 pm in Shrewsbury Parish Church.