Amalia Marietta Samuels

November 7, 1923 - March 14, 2011

AMALIA MARIETTA SANCHEZ (MOLLY) SAMUELS PASSED AWAY ON MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2011 IN PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS. ON NOVEMBER 17, 1923, IN TAMPICO, MEXICO, A BABY GIRL WAS BORN PREMATURELY TO DON AMADOR SANCHEZ, FORMER MAYOR OF LAREDO, TX, AND HIS WIFE MARGARITA VILLALOBOS SANCHEZ. AS A CHILD, SHE LIVED AT HER PARENTS RANCH, AND AT FIVE YEARS OLD WAS RIDING HER BELOVED HORSE, PLAYED WITH THE FARM ANIMALS AND FISHED THE RIVER NEARBY. HER LOVE OF FISHING LASTED THROUGHOUT HER LIFE AND SHE ALWAYS SAID "HER CHILDHOOD WAS GOLDEN". SHE ATTENDED THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN TAMPICO AND LATER FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL AT HOLDING INSTITUTE, A PRIVATE SCHOOL IN LAREDO. AFTER FINISHING SECRETARIAL SCHOOL AT LAREDO BUSINESS COLLEGE. IN 1945 SHE MET A YOUNG VETERAN OF THE EUROPEAN THEATER OF WORLD WAR II, MR. ECO F. SAMUELS AND THEY MARRIED SIX MONTHS LATER; THEY MOVED TO SAN MARCOS TO ATTEND SOUTHWEST TEXAS STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE, THEIR SON, ARTHUR RAY WAS BORN. WHILE ATTENDING COLLEGE, MR. SAMUELS WAS OFFERED A JOB WITH THE U. S. STATE DEPARTMENT TO FIGHT THE HOOF AND MOUTH DISEASE THAT WAS DECIMATING THE CATTLE IN MEXICO. HE TOOK THE JOB AND THEY LIVED FOR SEVERAL YEARS IN THE BEAUTIFUL COLONIAL CITY OF MORELIA AND LATER IN MEXICO CITY, WHERE THEIR SECOND SON, PHILIP, WAS BORN AT THE AMERICAN-BRITISH HOSPITAL. IN 1954, THEIR TOUR OF DUTY ENDED AND THEY RETURNED TO LAREDO, WHERE HE JOINED THE U. S. PUBLIC HEALTH AS AN INSPECTOR AT THE INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE. MOLLY WENT TO WORK AS ASSISTANT TO THE MANAGER OF THE FIRST TELEVISION STATION COMING TO THE CITY. AFTER FIVE YEARS, SHE WAS PROMOTED TO ASSISTANT MANAGER IN CHARGE, BUT RESIGNED WHEN HER HUSBAND WAS TRANSFERRED TO EL PASO AFTER ONE YEAR, HE WAS SENT TO THIS AREA IN 1960 TO BE THE OFFICER IN CHARGE OF THE MARITIME OFFICE FOR THE CITIES OF PORT ARTHUR, BEAUMONT, ORANGE, PORT NECHES AND LAKE CHARLES. THEY SETTLED IN PORT ARTHUR AND MOLLY ENJOYED BEING A HOUSEWIFE AND HAVING THEIR HOME FULL OF BOYS, WHO LOVED HER GOOD MEALS AND READY HOSPITALITY. WHEN HER HUSBAND RETIRED, SHE WENT TO WORK FOR THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR AS SECRETARY TO THE CITY ATTORNEY. SHE ENROLLED IN LAMAR TO OBTAIN A PARALEGAL CERTIFICATE AND WAS PROMOTED BY PORT ARTHUR'S CITY MANAGER AS MUNICIPAL COURT CLERK, A POSITION SHE HELD UNTIL 1989, WHEN SHE RESIGNED TO CARE FOR HER AILING MOTHER. IN THE COURSE OF FIVE YEARS, SHE LOST HER SON ART, IN A DIVING ACCIDENT IN BELIZE, HER HUSBAND AND HER MOTHER..AFTER HER SON'S DEATH SHE SUFFERED A HEART ATTACK AND HER HEALTH BEGAN TO DETERIORATE STEADILY, BUT SHE KEPT HER WONDERFUL SENSE OF HUMOR, LAUGHING MOSTLY AT HERSELF. IN ORDER TO HELP HER, HER SON PHILIP, WHO LIVED IN AUSTIN, MOVED BACK HERE AND THEY BOUGHT A HOME IN GROVES, CLOSE TO DEAR FRIENDS. MOLLY ENJOYED CRUISING AND TOOK SEVERAL TRIPS WITH A GROUP OF FRIENDS, WHOM SHE CHERISHED. SHE WAS A MEMBER OF ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, THE ALTAR SOCIETY, PAST PRESIDENT OF THE EVENING LA SERTOMA CLUB, MEMBER OF THE WEBB COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY IN LAREDO, TX AND DID VOLUNTEER WORK WHILE SHE WAS ABLE. SHE LOVED TO READ, AND WHENEVER SHE HAD THE CHANCE, GOING TO THE CASINOS IN LOUISIANA. UNTIL HER DEATH, MOLLY WAS THE OLDEST LIVING DIRECT DESCENDANT OF CAPITAN TOMAS SANCHEZ, FOUNDER OF LAREDO, TEXAS AND IN 2005 ATTENDED THE 250TH CELEBRATION OF THE FOUNDING OF SAID CITY. SHE IS SURVIVED BY HER BELOVED SON PHILIP R. SAMUELS OF GROVES, TX., GRANDDAUGHTER ERIN R. SAMUELS OF HOUSTON, HER SISTER MARTHA ELENA SANCHEZ OF ORIZABA, MEXICO, PLUS HER COUSINS, WHOM SHE LOVED DEARLY, DR. DOLORES REYNA LOPEZ AND HER HUSBAND, DR. EULOGIO LOPEZ, OF PUEBLA, MEXICO; MARGARITA REYNA HUERTA ALSO OF PUEBLA, DANIEL REYNA HUERTA, OF MONTERREY, MEXICO AND RAMON ROJAS OF VERACRUZ, MEXICO; HER NEPHEW, CRISTOBAL SANCHEZ, AND WIFE MARILYN OF PALO ALTO, CA, NIECE MARQUITA SANCHEZ SMITH OF BEAUMONT, AND GRANDNEPHEWS KEN SMITH AND WIFE LINDA OF LAKE CHARLES AND BRUCE N. SMITH AND WIFE DEBBIE OF BEAUMONT, TX;HER HUSBAND'S SISTERS, MRS. ALYCE SAMUELS MIRELES AND HER CHILDREN AND MRS. NINA SAMUELS GARCIA REMAINED HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS. IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, FAMILY REQUEST DONATIONS TO HUMANE SOCIETY OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS OR TO CHARITY OF YOUR CHOICE IN MEMORY OF MOLLY