Jessamy Eve Samuels

Jessamy Eve Samuels, age 19, of Rogers passed away Sunday May 15, 2016 in Newton County, Arkansas. Born to parents Mark and Sallyann (Hudson) Samuels on March 4, 1997, in London, England, Jessamy was named for the street on which her great-grandmother lived. Jessamy and her family moved to Rogers, Arkansas, in 2004. Jessamy became a U.S. citizen in 2015. Jessamy attended elementary school at the New School in Fayetteville before moving on to Elmwood Junior High School; she was a ballet student and soccer player. She played tennis her freshman, sophomore, and junior years at Rogers High School, attaining her varsity letter as a junior. That year, Jessamy was also selected as a member of the National Honor Society. Democratic politics was a passion for Jessamy, and she became the second president of the Rogers High School Young Democrats, always recruiting new members and encouraging students at other high schools to open their own chapters. Jessamy attended the Arkansas Governor's School at Hendrix College in Conway in the summer of 2014, where she enjoyed an intellectually stimulating social life and was immersed in an intensive six-week English/language arts program. On returning to RHS for her senior year, Jessamy applied her keen interest in human rights and politics to the school newspaper, the Mountie Spectrum, of which she was a co-editor-in-chief. She also joined the Lemke Journalism Project, sponsored by the Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism at the University of Arkansas. The Lemke Project publishes the Multicultural News in conjunction with the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette; Jessamy wrote about anti-LGBT ordinances and about the Cisneros Center. The Lemke Department offered Jessamy a scholarship for her freshman year, 2014-15. She lived in Hotz Hall, the honors dormitory, and discovered many like-minded young people there. She was an early and adamant advocate for Bernie Sanders. Her love for the Young Democrats continued, as she became the director of the Environmental Task Force for the Young Democrats of Arkansas, a program she also helped develop. Her concern for the environment was reflected in her enjoyment of hiking and spending time in the outdoors with friends. Jessamy was an exemplary college student; she was named to the Chancellor's List for her perfect grades in her first semester at the University of Arkansas. Jessamy then joined the staff of the university newspaper, the Arkansas Traveler. Her academic focus shifted from journalism and political science to anthropology and archeology. Jessamy had recently told her sister, Cicely, that she wanted to return to Iceland, where the family had gone on her senior break from high school, and study Viking cultures, possibly to return to the U.S. and teach at university. Jessamy was always pursuing new interests like gender studies and Native American law; she had recently started volunteering at the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville. When we remember Jessamy, we most often recall her sparkling personality and quick wit. She had the gift of being earnest but self-deprecating. Her teachers easily recall her intellectual curiosity and the high standards she set for herself; while she was passionate, she expressed herself concisely and with precision. Jessamy was a lover of the arts. The Samuels family was often traveling to concerts, museums, and festivals of all kinds around the world. Jessamy particularly loved Lollapalooza, which she attended three times; Austin City Limits was a newer favorite. While Jessamy enjoyed bands like the Animal Collective and was a particular fan of the filmmaker Wes Anderson, she was firmly planted in the real world and was busy equipping herself to make the world a better place for all of us. Jessamy is survived by parents, Mark and Sallyann, and sister, Cicely, and grandfather, Bryan Hudson, and his wife Dee; Uncle Simon Hudson; Uncle Paul Samuels, wife Nicky, and their children Benjamin and Isaac; Uncle Richard Samuels and his wife Marionette, and their children Lucas and David; Aunt Deanne (Samuels) Garrett and her husband Mike and their children Jane, Ben, and Sam. Jessamy is also survived by her tribe, the Lobbyists of Hotz Hall. A service is planned for 12:30 p.m. Monday the 23rd of May at Pratt Place Barn located at 2231 W. Markham Place, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 72701. The burial will take place at Evergreen Cemetery in Fayetteville, flowers can be sent to Moore's Chapel Funeral Home in Fayetteville or please consider a contribution to the Jessamy Samuels Scholarship Fund. Checks should be made payable to: University of Arkansas Foundation, Inc. Please mail donations to the following address: Gift Services, 300 University House, One University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Ark. 72701. To sign the online guest book visit www.mooresfuneralchapel.com.