John Sampson

John Stephen Sampson, 61, of St. Albans, passed away on Saturday, January 19, 2013 surrounded by family and his best friends at the Hubbard Hospice House, Charleston following a year-long battle with kidney and bone cancer. John is preceded in death by his mother, Elizabeth Alice Stephenson Sampson and his father, Donald Glenn Sampson, who just passed December 31, 2012. Also preceding him in death are grandparents, Cyrus Dewey and Opal LaSarrah Hower Sampson; uncles, John Erwin Sampson, Howard Dewey Sampson and Bobby Lee Sampson; grandparents, Eupha Alice and Chilton Stephenson; aunts and uncles, Paul and Margaret Stephenson Blake, Brooks and Nelma Stephenson Ward, Paul Stephenson, Ralph Stephenson, Stel Stephenson; niece, Stephanie Higginbotham; nephew, Benjamin Wade Francis; father-in-law, David G. George. John is survived by his wife of almost 40 years, Peggy George Sampson; sons, John David Sampson (fiancée, Miranda Ashworth) of Charleston, Stephen Nathaniel Sampson of St. Albans; sister, Terri Susanne Sampson of Charleston; brother-in-law, David C. George and nephew, Andrew Forest George both of Kannapolis, NC; niece, Autumn George Smallwood (Kevin) of Maryland; mother-in-law, Lois George of Charleston and St. Albans; step-mother, Imogene "Gene" Sampson of Elkview; step-sisters, Carolyn Bartlett of Galax, VA, Katherine Pierre (Guerin)of Twin Lake, MI, Sharon Holstein (David) of Elkview; step-brother, David Larry Jones (Janet) of Elkview; aunt, Susanne Mollencop (Tom) of Lexington, KY; uncle David Jack Stephenson of Port St. Lucie, FL; aunts, Lois Sampson and Hazel Sampson both of St. Albans; numerous additional nieces, nephews and cousins. John is also survived by his best friends and travel partners, Fred Theierl and his wife, Barbara. John will be greatly missed by his family and friends. John worked in the medical intensive care unit of Charleston Area Medical Center for 35 years. He was a very caring and wonderful nurse to not only his patients but to the families of his patients. He loved his work and was a preceptor to numerous nurses throughout the years. He loved teaching and planned to do just that in his retiring years. John related to all patients, especially those who had served in the military. He was a member of the CORE committee and was disappointed that he could not donate his organs. In 2012, John received the Award of Excellence in Professional Nursing from Charleston Area Medical Center. While living in California, John attended San Diego State and upon his return to Charleston, applied for admission into the Nursing School at Morris Harvey College, now known as the University of Charleston. Graduating the program in 1980, he was in the first class that accepted males. John also holds a Board of Regents degree in Hospital Administration from West Virginia School of Technology. John was a 1970 graduate of George Washington High School where he played football, wrestled and participated in the track program, throwing the discus. He attended West Virginia State College before joining the United States Navy. John served as a Hospital Corpsman at the Pensacola Naval Hospital in Florida from September, 1971 through January, 1974. At that time, he was sent to Field Medical School at Camp Lejuene, NC. Following his graduation in February, 1974, he then was stationed with the 3rd Marine Air Wing, MCAS in El Tora and Santa Ana, California. From March, 1975 to March, 1976, he served with the 3rd Marine Division Headquarters Battalion in Okinawa, Japan, Fort Swab Recon. John was on the last helicopter leaving Vietnam as a corpsman with the Marines. After returning from Okinawa, he and Peggy lived in San Diego, California. He was stationed at NAS Miramar, California until 1979 when they returned home. November, 1979, he joined the United States Naval Reserves and served for 20 years with his best friend, Fred Theierl. John was re-activated to active duty in October, 1990 serving in Desert Storm/ Desert Shield. In his 20 years in the Naval Reserves, he served in Germany, Spain and Norway as part of NATO Joint Services as well as Jacksonville, Florida and Portsmouth, Virginia and many other places. John retired with the rank of Senior Chief in December, 1998 after 28 years of service to his country. John was a dedicated father and participated in every aspect of his son?s lives. He was a wonderful husband, son, brother, uncle and friend. He loved life and had numerous talents. He was an artist, loved to work on crafts and surprise friends with his gifts. He loved cars and was currently restoring a 1965 Cyclone. He and his friend, Fred, attended several military shows collecting various memorabilia. He was a wonderful cook and loved to try new recipes for his family and friends. He also loved working on his home and remodeled it several times over the years. John is a member of Trinity Baptist Church (The Crossing) in St. Albans. Funeral service will be held at 2pm Wednesday, January 23, 2013 at Bartlett-Chapman Funeral Home, 409 Sixth Avenue, St. Albans, with Pastor Carl "Chuck" Kinder officiating. Burial with military honors will follow in Graceland Memorial Park, South Charleston. Visitation will be held from 6-9pm Tuesday at the funeral home. The family would like to take a moment and thank the entire 5-South nursing staff at CAMC, Memorial Division, you guys are wonderful. Also the staff of Hubbard Hospice House, our "Angels on Earth" as well as John's friends and doctors, Dr. Nagarajan and Dr. Edward Gray, Michael Sullivan, Debby White and Chastity Cook for coming by daily to give him his shot. Without all of you, we would not have had the extra time with John that we so treasure. Memorial contributions are encouraged to the Hubbard Hospice House, 1001 Kennewa Drive, Charleston, WV 25389 in John's memory.