Mostafa Samsami-Mohajer

Mostafa Samsami, Sam, was born in Iran on June 28th, 1932 and spent his first 22 years surrounded by his large extended family whom he loved, and cared for by a family servant called Hajikhan, whom he also dearly loved.

By the time he was a young man Sam knew he wished for more than to live a comfortable life and be subject to the whims of a dictator. He applied to study at the University of Missouri-Columbia and also to a program in Argentina to become a rancher. But Missouri called him first, and so in 1955 he came to the United States, eventually earning a B.A. in Agriculture.

In the summers between classes he and a buddy would drive to Chicago to work bundling scrap metal for 40-cents an hour, renting a room at a nearby YMCA. At the end of each summer they'd drive to Yellowstone and other places of adventure out west.

While in Columbia he met Anne Crossley in a five-and-dime. She was also a student, at nearby Stephens College. Though charmed into giving Sam the phone number where she could be reached, she didn't agree to go out with him until after he had called her three times because she was sure she would marry him if he asked, but wanted to know that he was serious. Sam and Anne were married Labor Day weekend 1960, in Old Greenwich, CT where she grew up. They remained in love for the next 61 years.
 
They came to Chicago with $300 and a determination to find jobs and a place to live. Though Sam worked for several years as a chemist, he found his true vocation as a salesman. In 1972 they moved their young family from Chicago to Glen Ellyn and started a business together. Medi-Type was a home-based medical transcription service (Medi-Type) which employed 15 full-time transcriptionists, put both of their children through college, and funded their life together after selling the business in 1998.

Sam became a U.S. Citizen in 1968. He was keenly aware of the value of freedom, and was fiercly loyal to his adopted country. In 1978 he brought his mother Batool to live with his family, and she remained with him until the end of her life in 2006.

Sam was an avid chess player, and had a lifelong love of gardening, cooking, baking, and reading poetry. He spent many years volunteering to help care for the rose gardens at Cantigny, and for years he tended to his own gardens at home, sharing that with everyone he knew. In his later years he volunteered at the Treasure House in Glen Ellyn. He also loved classical music, golf, his scooter, his chickens, shooting and collecting guns, painting in watercolors and most of all, spending time with his grandchildren. He often said his life was full, as he was given all he ever wanted and so much more.

He left this world unexpectedly on November 18th, 2021. His beautiful life, and his hearty laughter, will forever be remembered by his loving wife Anne, son Darius (Maureen), daughter Lee (Mitch) Stein, sister Guity (Salour), seven grandchildren (Emma, Ian, Eamon, Eleanor, Seamus, Faith and Ethan) and hundreds of cherished cousins and friends around the world.

The Samsami family requests that remembrances be made in the form of donations to Metropolitan Family Services of DuPage County. 222 E. Willow Street, Wheaton IL 60187. https://www.metrofamily.org/community_center/dupage/

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