In memoriam: George Samuel

July 27, 1937 – April 2, 2023

It is with great sadness that we share news of the passing of George Samuel, 85. He died peacefully in Powell River with his loving partner, Joanna Dunbar, at his side. George suffered a fall in December 2022 that led to a series of health complications and sped up the dementia that had been slowly taking hold in recent years. Unable to live at home after his fall, he did a brief stint at Evergreen Extended Care near the end of his life.

George was born in Rangoon, Burma (Yangon, Myanmar) in 1937 on the eve of World War II to his American mother, Helen Samuel (Hanna) and Scottish father, George Samuel Senior. Following tumultuous war years in Asia, the family returned briefly to Scotland before emigrating to Edmonton, Alberta in the early 1950s. George attended the University of Alberta and later moved to the UK to complete a PhD from the University of London. In 1963 he returned to Edmonton where he began a 30 year position as a professor of English Literature at the University of Alberta. After a brief early marriage and the birth of his three children, he met and married Joanna Dunbar. The two of them went on to spend 50 splendid years together filled with love and companionship, nature walks, delicious vegetarian meals, and other shared pursuits. In 2010 George relocated with Joanna to Powell River, BC. There he discovered community and connection, forging strong friendships nurtured during years in his beloved memoir writing class and ongoing qigong practice.

George's enduring interest in and study of left focused twentieth century philosophers was of sustaining value to him and central to his original art, music, and writings. He found Carl Jung's analytical psychology and the archetype of the Fool particularly engaging. George was a talented and committed visual artist and a passionate drummer. A quiet person in his everyday life, he nonetheless relished his daily drumming sessions and spent hours deeply immersed in his visual art projects. He drummed up to the final year of his life, finally passing on his percussion instruments at 84, and continued to draw until the very last weeks of his life.

George is survived by his partner, Joanna Dunbar, his three children: Arthur Samuel, Andrew Samuel (Jackie Heslop), and Jeannie Samuel (David Szablowski), his grandchildren Eamon, Jake, Fifi, Katie, Nikko and Kai, and beloved friends and extended family. He is predeceased by his two younger brothers, Alex Samuel and Tom Samuel.

We are grateful for the excellent care and attention he received from the staff at qathet General Hospital and Evergreen Extended Care, and the ongoing love and support from his partner Joanna, especially in the final stage of his life.

George was a kind, gentle, wonderfully creative man. We do miss him very much.

No formal ceremony is currently planned. However, family, friends, and the public are invited to celebrate George by exploring this, his personal artistic website where he shared his amazing graphic art and his literary creation, the Old Hegelians Newsletter.