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Sam Valdivia will be greeted by many in heaven

  • Originally published September 1, 2012 at 4:51 p.m., updated September 1, 2012 at 4:51 p.m.

Editor, the Advocate:

Sam Valdivia passed away quietly on Tuesday, Aug. 28. I know he will be met in heaven by at least three groups of admirers.

First will be the many people Sam helped at the nursing homes, Christ Kitchen and other places where he volunteered. Often, when I asked him to go to coffee, he would decline because of his commitment to volunteering with the old and poor. He was very dedicated.

The second group will be the many women and mothers who Sam saved from breast cancer. We often laughed about the time that the American Cancer Society called the police because we were handing out brochures that warned women of breast cancer. The police could not understand why the ACS objected. Sam was a cancer survivor, a nurse and a really great debater.

The third group of admirers to greet Sam will be the children that Sam saved or tried to save from abortion. I recall the time the chief of police was writing Sam a citation for holding up a gross picture of a pre-born baby who had been brutally killed by an abortionist. I just happened to arrive with another similar picture and the chief threw up his hands in despair.

"Freedom of Speech" is alive and well in Victoria because of men like Sam. I'm sure Dorothy Stathis will be there to greet him. Thank you, Sam, for a life well lived and an inspiration for us all. May you rest in peace.

Wm. Paul Tasin, Victoria