Robert C. Samels: Guestbook
Alicia (Compton) Kennedy
August 25, 2010
My heart broke when I heard about Robert's passing. I have found myself several times in my life bragging about "this guy I knew in highschool". I am blessed to have been in his presence for even a short time in my life. I remember him joyfully shouting "Compton" when I saw him early in the morning before band practice. He made me feel wanted when no one else did. He continually tried to help me improve my chess playing and his patience and charm was very refreshing. I also was able to witness his talent on stage and was so impressed to see such talent come from someone so young still. He will always be on my mind and in my heart. His amazingness is a legacy that will never be met.
August 25, 2010
Dear Robert,
I didn't know you well, which I'll always regret, but it's amazing how frequently I think of you after all this time.
Thanks for being a patient ear training teacher -- I will always be appreciative of the extra time you took to meet with me to help me with my singing. I'm still not very good, but I think of you whenever I do attempt to sing anything.
I also fondly remember going to the premiere of your opera, Pilatus. You were so very gifted, and I can't help but think what amazing things you'd be doing if you were still with us.
Thank you for always brightening my day and for being an all-around wonderful person. You'll always be missed.
Nicole Sasser
August 21, 2010
I'll never forget your wonderful performance in Don Giovanni. You are missed and you were my favorite ear training teacher!
Mom
July 5, 2010
The world moves on, but I still keep your memory alive in my heart and I always will. It's impossible not to feel the impact of your loss in every minute of every day. I am forever changed.
Chris Moreau
July 2, 2010
I'm not sure what made me think of you today but I just wanted to say that I miss your friendship and am keeping your family in my thoughts.
Jessica Ferri
April 29, 2010
I was just remembering Robert as my conductor at Indiana - he was an incredible person who inspired me on almost a daily basis. I admired him and looked up to him and I wish I could have known him better. My thoughts are with his family, and I wish them all the best.
Becky
April 20, 2010
My dear Robert, how I miss you...
Katie L.
January 1, 2010
Hey Robert - I'm having a New Years of remembering... I miss you tons and send you my love!!!! xxx
Dad
December 25, 2009
I watched "It's a Wonderful Life" last night and can't help but remember your corny imitation of Jimmie Stewart, saying, "Merry Christmas, Savings and Loan." Merry Christmas!
Carol Bright
July 26, 2009
Paula: This morning I had such a feeling to contact you and when I googled you -this is where i landed. My heart cries for you and Clayton today. I still cannot imagine your grief and sorrow. I looked through all of Robert's photos and remembered well seeing him at Hoban. What a star - He still is.
Jeff Leinen
May 13, 2009
Becky and I think of you often and rely on your guidance in our daily music-related tribulations! Remind us all of your presence!
Jeff
Jeff Leinen
May 13, 2009
Thank you for posting the great photos! My last photos of Robert would have been from the Huron Playhouse's 2000 Season... these help me see a small piece of what he accomplished after that point in time!
Dana
April 20, 2009
We are all thinking about you today and every day. You are safe in our hearts forever.
Daniel
March 9, 2009
Hey Robert-
Today at church we sang "Pilgrim's Hymn", which I will always remember from your memorial service. And wouldn't you know there was a hammered dulcimer player there too! I really felt your presence. I thought a lot today about how you complimented my performing once - I can't explain to you how much that meant to me. I am so lucky to have had you as a friend, even for a short, short time.
Katie
February 23, 2009
Hey Robert - I've been thinking about you tons recently and remembering... I miss you! xoxox, katie
taylor
December 29, 2008
Robert,
I think about you all the time, i wish you were still here. I just wanted to tell you that I am applying for a job at your alma mater and you are a big reason why. I know that you are one of a kind, but if there are more like you, I hope to meet them.
I miss you and Chris and think about you every time I hit the links. You are missed.
Joyce Holod, N. Ridgeville, OH
November 25, 2008
I met Paula last fall during a temporary work assignment. We talked occasionally but did not really get to know each other. Last week a co-worker informed me that Paula lost her son, Robert, in an airplane crash. As a parent who also lost a son in 2006, I approached Paula to express my concern and see how she was doing. No one can truly understand how much grief a parent endures in losing a child. We get by. We have good days and some really tough ones that can be triggered by any little thing..a special thought, a special date, looking at a photo, someone just mentioning your precious child's name, etc. I can't imagine what it is like for Robert's parents and friends to be able to listen to him sing, but I'm glad his music is available to be enjoyed and to help his memory to live on. I'm sure Robert is with the Choir of Angels now!
Obviously, I never met Robert. It is so apparent that he was so special and talented and that his future would have been absolutely amazing had his life not ended so suddenly. My condolences to all who knew and loved Robert.
Brad Rowe
November 19, 2008
Samel Family,
I just learned of Robert's death. How devastating. I was in Sweeney Todd with him at BG. I was in the chorus. Even though I wasn't a student, he was very gracious and friendly to me. His portrayal of Turpin remains my favorite of the many productions of Sweeney I have been affiliated with. A true class act. I am so very saddened for your loss. I wish your family well and may God give you peace.
Georgia
September 13, 2008
Hello, Paula and Clayton,
I very much enjoyed seeing the new pictures of Robert. I continue to think of him and visit his page. Like so many of us, I'll always miss him and send you my love.
Georgia
Mom
September 2, 2008
Request--Robert loved Halloween! As he got older he got crazier in his Halloween costumes. We've only heard about him dressing up as a woman (and saw the clothes when we cleaned out the apartment!) and that one year he dressed as how he would look in ten years. If anyone has pictures of him from Halloween we would greatly cherish copies. My email is psamels@zoominternet.net
Thank you and love to you all for remembering Robert!
Jessica Plaspohl
August 23, 2008
Robert,
School started this week, and as I was walking through the halls and listening to the students talk and yell their nicknames for each other. I started thinking about the time your freshman year Jared had a piece of mail for you and yelled "Robert Smells!" across the band room. You just smiled, laughed and said thank you. We called you "smelly" from that day on. I saw you after high School, I ran up to you and gave you a hug and I called you "smelly." You said you were so happy to see me because no one called you that any more. You always had such a wonderful sense of humor!
The Hoban group has talked about you a bit these past few months, trying to find the words to describe your talent, your brilliance, your modesty. I think that is why I have been thinking about you. I just want to make sure people know you still. You were such a light in the world.
I know, I am babbling1 But we miss you, we all do. I will continue to pray for your family!
Mom
August 8, 2008
The olympics start today. You would have been counting down the days. You loved the olympics. You read every book about the olympics and all the events and the history. You would watch as much of it as you could with your schedule. How I wish you could be here to watch this one.
nick heinzen
August 1, 2008
still thinking of you.
i will never forget.
June 30, 2008
Robert comes to visit me often. Sometimes I close my eyes at night and hear his infectious deep belly laugh in my hallway. We mostly sit around, we drink beer and imitate other singers to each other and laugh. He loves when I scoop into the high note ala Renne. He laughs at me when I tell him how much I love tall guys with funky long hair, but I can see that he is growing his hair out. For some reason he comes so often to visit. Nothing has changed, really. He laughs a lot. He is very happy.
June 30, 2008
Robert, you are well and alive in my heart always.
Mom
June 2, 2008
Today would have been your 27th birthday. I still wait for you to call. You've been away at school too long... My heart aches
Dr. Raymond R. Brown
May 28, 2008
Robert's voice is amazing. This loss is more than I can imagine.
Gwen
May 5, 2008
Robert, you somehow always knew when I needed to be cheered up. I heard Don GIovanni last year, and the catalogue aria was a shadow of yours.
Georgia
April 19, 2008
I will never pass this sad anniversary without missing Robert, or without thinking of you, Paula and Clayton. And yet I will always thank you, and Life itself, for giving me the opportunity to know Robert.
Janet
April 14, 2008
ROBERT:
JUST TAKING A FEW MINUTES TO LISTEN TO YOUR RICH VOICE AND TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I AM THINKING OF YOU, YOUR MOM AND DAD AND SAYING A PRAYER FOR YOU. I HOPE YOU SAY A PRAYER FOR ALL OF US TOO.
Greg Samels
February 27, 2008
I am the third son of Lawrence and Shirley Samels from Munster, IN. I presently reside in Fort Wayne, IN. I do remember having relatives in Akron. Regardless, I have enjoyed reading the passages in this guestbook, and am very sorry not to have known Robert. Please accept my very tardy condolences, and please have peace knowing how many lives were obviously touched by Robert.
Jasmine Beams
February 21, 2008
Still thinking of you Robert.
Katie
January 1, 2008
Dearest Robert... I miss you! Happy New Year. I can't believe how long it's already been. But more than that, I can't believe this other plane crash. Unbelievable how sickeningly ironic this world can be huh? Anyway, happy new year and I send you my love!!!
Dad
December 31, 2007
We miss you so much. Mom and I were talking about how you always used to do that bad imitation of Jimmie Stewart from It's a Wonderful Life, saying, "Merry Christmas, Savings and Loan." This is our second Christmas without you and now, another horrible plane crash. It is all so unbelievable!
December 26, 2007
Dear Robert, we were just acquaintances at IU and you keep haunting my thoughts time and time again. I think of you today and light a candle in your memory. I hope that some day we meet again in heaven and you recognize me. I hope we can sing a duet or two together. I hope that you're happy and in company of your friends, making music, laughing.
I know you are :-)
We all miss you down here ya' know? Hugs. Merry Christmas.
Mom
November 1, 2007
Well, we finally said goodbye to your little green car last night. I will miss seeing it in the garage. You were so proud of that car. Your first car and your last car. How sorry I am for you and for us. I miss our talks, I need your strength and laughter in my life. You are forever locked in my heart. People want me to act like you never were--to never mention your name. I play along, but in my heart and mind you are always and forever with me.
John
September 27, 2007
hey there Robert. had a dream about us and we were playing this card game with a bunch of people. then i told them the story of when you and Greg brooks got into that huge argument about how he didnt think that choir was important and how you thought it was, and you ended uo getting so mad you stormed out of Crazy Horse, Vera and I and Greg were laughing so hard when that happened. Oh man I still cant believe you arent here.
Maija
August 30, 2007
Hi Robert. Like a lot of people at that big school who are always coming and going, we weren't very close, just friendly acquaintances who said hello with eye twinkles and grins at each other. I always felt like we were sharing some secret inside joke - that was the power of your smile. You were a presence, both physically (so tall!) in the hallways and rehearsals, and spiritually/vocally on WFIU, a presence that is missed. I miss hearing your voice warming the airways. I'm in loud and impersonal NYC now, and I listen absentmindedly to the NYC NPR station daily, but it isn't at all the same as those Bloomington days at IU listening to your gorgeous voice on the radio, making things as mundane as the daily news or weather report feel so personal, and knowing I'd see you in the halls of the music school. I saw the Our Town workshop the last summer I was there, and you were, as always, a presence. I miss you.
June 17, 2007
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Samels,
Until now I've held back from contributing to this or any other page about Robert and our other departed friends, rationalizing that I should defer to others who knew them better. Today for some reason I've lost that reticence.
I knew Robert well enough to say hello in the halls (I was also a theory AI and involved in the voice and choral departments), but never had the opportunity to socialize with him one on one. Even so, I did have a memorable personal experience with him one evening during an Ether Game broadcast. I phoned in to answer a quiz question (which I seldom do), and as he read off the list of people who had answered correctly, when he came to my pseudonym he added "good to hear from you," presumably acknowledging that he knew or had figured out that I was the "Little Guy from Pisa." At his passing, the loss for me was not the loss of a good friend, but the missed opportunity to establish a solid friendship with someone whom I admired so much from afar. And such an easy opportunity at that, since he was a friend to everyone he knew.
My heart goes out to you, especially as I see the posts from Mom. I hope and pray that one day you will feel healing, though of course there will always be scars. I have two beautiful children, and I've experienced sudden unnatural loss in my family, but I haven't lost a child. I do always have that fear in the back of my mind, as any parent worthy of the title does, and if it ever happened I'm sure I would comprehend more fully the sense of injustice people feel about outliving a child. I'm even more afraid, however, of the possibility that either of them should go missing, and/or come in contact with someone who, rather than take away their lives, would seek through abusive or corruptive influence to rob them of their inner beauty, self-esteem, self-determination, character, talents, intelligence, ability to live a happy and productive life, etc. I hope these fears will always remain groundless.
While Robert greatly impressed me when I knew him, as I've learned more about him since his passing he has become a much greater inspiration to me, both as a musician and as a human being. He has awakened in me a sense of my own potential for achievement in both of those spheres, if only I will also emulate his drive, his discipline, and his enthusiasm for music, life, and his fellow travelers. I'm sure this is true for many, many people, and we are all grateful for it.
Thoughts and prayers with you,
Paul Pisano
andrew henry
June 14, 2007
I was thinking of Robert today and remembering months ago when I was walking through the Annex and i thought I heard his voice, echoing around the circle. I always looked forward to seeing him. I remember sitting on the floor of a Dave's hotel room in Upland, IN after a performance of Cosi that Robert had come to see and drinking cranberry and vodka and talking about music, life, everything and nothing. I miss you Robert.
Sandy Ridenour
June 10, 2007
I just now discovered Robert's website and I appreciate the opportunity to express how much he is mourned and missed. My husband and I were big fans of his. We often spoke with him after his concerts and he was always so gracious. Since our radio is always on and tuned to WFIU we loved hearing his voice. I still think of him especially at those times when he would have been on the air. Such a great talent and such a great loss to all of us.
Brian Mungo
June 7, 2007
Rob,
Just happened to check out the webpage, and cant believe it had been over a year.I find you popping into my mind occasionally, or being mentioned in a conversation amongst your friends. You are missed. I am sorry we didnt stay in touch after high school. Look forward to seeing you again someday.
Jeff Leinen
June 5, 2007
To the Samels Family-
Those of us who shared even a little time on this earth with Robert were enlightened by his passion, spirit, talent, height, big eyes, big voice, big laugh, big personality, and big heart. I buddied up with your son at the BGSU Huron Playhouse in the summer of 2000 and had the absolute best summer of my life. His quirky jokes and intellect were unmatched and nonstop. His stage time was always inspirational, and he continues to appear in my dreams and those of my wife. Both he and Chris were lights that even death cannot extinguish. Every time my wife or I wake after having a dream with Robert or Chris in it, we relive our memories of them. It is as if that is their way of making sure that we don't forget about them. And how could we? Nothing can really ease the pain that we all feel about the loss of Robert. That pain reminds us of how truly special he was. May he always make his presence to us known whether in dreams, music he composed, recordings, pictures, and other legacies he was so proud of.
We miss both of our BGSU friends and hope that everyone keeps their legacies alive in whatever way they can.
Jeff and Becky
Mom
June 2, 2007
You would be 26 years old today. I can't believe I've missed 2 birthdays with you. My heart crys out for you always. I am forever changed from loosing you. You had so much more life to live.
James B
May 9, 2007
I can't believe it has been so long. Just came by to look at the web site, and remember the good high school times. Will says some prayers....
Kelli Crawford
May 4, 2007
It's been over a year and my heart is still crying... I was so lucky to have known you. I am better because of it...
April 22, 2007
Our love is with Robert's family. We all miss him so much.
Eileen Bora
April 20, 2007
My thoughts are with you and our friends today Samels! I miss our jovial hellos in the halls of Indiana and was thinking about how many people you have touched. Hope you have formed an amazing choir where ever you may be and sing loudly, and with much joy. Miss you kiddo! My thoughts are with your family on this very difficult day, one year later.
April 20, 2007
Special thoughts, prayers, and love to Robert's family and many friends. We continue to celebrate his extraordinary talents and life of giving.... The heavens sound more glorious with his presence!
love and hugs
the glann family
Adam Cioffari
April 20, 2007
Dear Robert,
This last year has been so incredibly difficult for all of those who were blessed to know you. Personally, even now, I still cannot believe that you are no longer with us. The Jacobs SoM is simply not the same without you. So many times I find myself thinking, "What would Robert do/say if he were here right now?" Wherever you are, I am sure you heard the beautiful tributes at the church service today, and I know that you will be listening to the Faure tonight as well.
I keep your family constantly in my prayers, because I cannot imagine the loss they must feel. Mr. P. always talks about you with the deepest respect and admiration, and I share that same respect. I never got the chance to tell you in so many words, but you were, and still are, my hero and my idol, and I will never, ever forget your inspiration. Thank you for everything. You are missed so deeply by so many.
housman
April 20, 2007
To An Athlete Dying Young
THE time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
To-day, the road all runners come, 5
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay, 10
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.
Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers 15
After earth has stopped the ears:
Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man. 20
So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.
And round that early-laurelled head 25
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.
Katie Leemhuis
April 19, 2007
Dearest Robert,
Well, tomorrow will mark one year. You don't even know how many tears will be shed and how many prayers will be sent your way. You are and always will be missed... God bless you, and I hope you are still singing, my friend. (And, it's STILL unfair, to this day).
Love you,
Katie
Georgia
April 18, 2007
I am thinking of you, Paula and Clayton, as this anniversary approaches, and wishing that some peace will come to you. As I watched the news of the West Virginia tragedy I thought of the grief of those newly bereaved parents, and realized that only those who, like you, have suffered such loss, could possibly understand. Please know that hundreds of us think of you this week. Robert touched us all.
Roger Henry
April 18, 2007
To the Samels Family.
To me, Robert was the person I was most likely to run into in the Music Annex. He was always walking purposefully to his next appointment or event, and I was always running. Into him, usually! It became our little game.
I was 12 years older than he, but I couldn't help but look up to Robert. Every time I turned around, he was into something else! Theory AI. Voice. Conducting. Next thing you know, he's writing an opera.
A typical meeting would start with me running into him in the annex, and he would smile down from a great height (I'm only 5'7"), and ask how I was. I'd tell him, and ask what new he was up to. He'd tell me in some detail, and I'd think, "But where does he find the time?! And why isn't he rushing around like I am?!"
I'd always walk away wishing I could be more like Robert Samels. Only shorter.
This dreadful anniversary is upon us: for me, things stand as they did that day. I still expect to run into Robert as I come around the curve of the Music Annex, and I still wish I could be more like him.
Mom
April 16, 2007
I hear people talking about their children finishing up at school and coming home for the summer. I hear them talking about their sons graduating and how proud they are. I listen to them talking about what colleges are best or what state their children may go to. I sit here and pretend that everything is normal; but inside it is so not normal!
Janet
April 15, 2007
Just thinking of you and your Mom and Dad.
Thinking that there has to be life out there because the time we have on earth is not enough.
April 11, 2007
Hey there Buddy, I just wanted to write and say hi and that that I have been thinking of you and the gang alot lately. Not that I don't think of you, Chris, Garth, Zack, and Georgina every day, its just as the 20th gets closer I still can't believe your gone. As I read everyone of your mother's entries on this page my heart breaks for her, and I want to give her a hug. I just wanted to write and say that I have been thinking of you and the gang alot lately, and our many great performances we had togther, and the great times we had. all the best wunderkind. Thinking of you
March 29, 2007
Their spirits are together and you both are held in love. I'm an old reprobate, but I don't doubt this.
Mom
March 19, 2007
Grandma I. passed away last night. She loved you so much and her hope was she would get to see you again. So if that's true, please take care of her. I'm missing you both so much.
March 13, 2007
Robert, I still think of you and your goodness and grieve that you are no longer with us. What a gift you were, fashioned by the Universe with help from your wonderful parents.
jake
March 8, 2007
astoundingly strange, the irreal distance that time gives. i tried writing you many times...i ran away into work, and into singing and lots of really good beer you oughta try sometime... you still inspire me. and you will always be rovobert, to my javakey. thanks friend.
Mom
March 3, 2007
One year ago we were in Bloomington to visit you and see you perform in "Our Town". You were so happy and excited about your summer in Wolf Trap. You blushed when you introduced us to Ann. We had a wonderful evening with both of you. Who would know that was our last time to ever see you?
Dawn
February 17, 2007
I think about you every day. It's bizzarre that you infiltrated so many areas and knew so many people--probably a little less bizzarre, though, when I remember that you were brilliant and wonderful. Several of the misfits saw each other at convention and although we didn't discuss you, your spirit and influences are always there. I love and miss you.
February 16, 2007
Robert, I haven't been able to write anything on this page for the last ten months due to the fact that I don't want to fully face the fact that you are no longer here. There have been so many times where I just forget for a few seconds and I have wanted to call you to tell you some opera trivia or compositional thing that you would like, and then my heart hurts all over again and I realize that I just can't. I told Dan that this just isn't right...such talent, such a musician, and such a man was taken from us. That we were supposed to be going to each other's debuts and celebrating your opening night, not celebrating your life. I am constantly reminded of you right before I go onstage for the first time. It was during Mikado that I saw you yawning and I remember remarking about how you should wake up before we go onstage. Of course, there was a reason and you weren't tired! You told me that yawning helped you to relax your nerves and relax the throat. Well, since then, I have not been able to enter the stage without yawning (at least three times as I always get really nervous!) and thanking you. Now, every time I yawn, I feel like you are there and giving me a bit of confidence with that yawn. I hope you hear me thank you and I promise to always give my best for you and Chris.
These thoughts are very random as are my thoughts still and how to clearly put them into words. I hope that you visit those often and have found a way to heal their hurting hearts. You are truly missed. How lucky was I to have known you though! You made me a better person by your example!
Dan Bogart
January 16, 2007
God works in mysterious ways. I was sitting at work today and for some reason I was thinking about kids I grew up with in Barberton. I wondered what they are doing now. I went to Woodford Elementary School with this brainy little kid named Robert Samels. He was always the smartest kid in class and I hung out with him on a pretty regular basis from 3rd to 5th grades. When the time came up to move to middle school I didnt see him much. Once he went to Hoban and I stayed in Barberton, i never saw him again. Funny that 15 years later his name popped into my head and I figured I would Google him to see if he had cured Cancer or if he was a Rocket Scientist. I was deeply saddened to read of the events of last April. Robert, you befriended me at a young age when I needed a positive influence in my life and helped me to turn into the man I ended up as. Rest In Peace my friend, Dan Bogart BHS class of 1998
Christi
January 14, 2007
Robert, I pray for your family and friends often during this first rough year without you. I was blessed to spend that last Easter sunday singing with you and talking with you between services just days before you left us. You had already offered more to humanity in your short life than most do in a lifetime and it grieves me to think how much more you had to give that you were robbed of offering. Your kindness, intelligence, musical genius, and humble character were a rare beauty. I only wish I could have known you better. Even still, my limited contact with you, your voice and music has made a lifelong impact on me. Thank you for blessing my life and so many around me.
Kimberly James
January 2, 2007
Creighton & I were talking about you yesterday. We miss you and send prayers for your family. I can't imagine how hard this first holiday season was for your folks.
Katie Leemhuis
January 2, 2007
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Robert! I think about you daily and how much you are missed. It's ridiculously unfair. God truly blessed the hundreds of peoples' lives whom you touched. Hope you're celebrating the New Year with Chris :) Love you lots.
Brian Mungo
December 24, 2006
Though I cant imagine how difficult it must be to celebrate, I wish a Merry Christmas to you Paula and Clayton. You and Robert are in out thoughts and prayers.
Jasmine Beams
December 17, 2006
I still think of you often Robert and I will for the rest of my life. I pray you are now in a place filled with heavenly music. Bless your family for their courage.
Anonymous
December 15, 2006
Before the accident and especially after, I have been influenced by this young man who has achieved so much in so little time. I dare not say I knew Robert, but I would have considered it like meeting a celebrity based on the comments I've heard of his intelligence and talents. Or perhaps it would have been just like meeting a new friend, and equal, based on his humility and kindness. I will work hard to be everything that I can be as a musician and as a person, just like you were, Robert.
Marcy Richardson
December 12, 2006
Dear Robert,
I just sang a messiah and couldn't stop wishing it was you singing "why do the nations." I kept closing my eyes imagining how your voice would sound singing it and how happy it would have made me to look over and see you in a tux with your messiah score. I would have given absolutely anything to have you up there on stage with me. it was hard to sing "i know my redeemer liveth" which is supposed to be happy, without being overwhelmed with sadness. I think about you every time I'm in a concert and hear a piece of gorgeous music that I know you would love, and all I can do is sit and cry and hope noone around me notices too much. I think of you and chris every day and talk about you all the time. It is so unfair that you are gone. I miss you so much.
Tracy Sturgis
October 31, 2006
I haven't commented on the blog or here for you or for Chris because I just couldn't sit and write anything without crying. You and I were not close but we were friends and I miss you...I came across an email just now as I was clearing up my folder. It was from December of last year....it was so good to read. (Again!). You had a link in your email to your website...and I felt compelled to come here and write something. Just missing you and Chris very much. My thoughts are never far from the two of you. My best always to your family.
October 13, 2006
Robert, I am so thankful for this website that was created. I think of you often and visit this site just to take another look at you, hear your voice.
I continue to be amazed at all you accomplished.
I drove to DC in June to visit Cory and as I passed the sign for Wolf Trap wished I was meeting up with Cory to see/hear you perform. Thinking of you Paula & Clayton and holding you in my thoughts and prayers. None of you are forgotten.
Max
September 28, 2006
You probably wouldn't remember me too well, but I remember that I saw you perform in one of the most moving concerts I've ever attended. You were a bass soloist in a wonderful performance of Stravinsky's 'Le Noce,' and since then, I had always imagined coming to you and asking you to sing my duet for two bass voices. I will always think of you as a hero to me, as a young, aspiring freshman in the school of music.
Anonymous
September 20, 2006
Dear Robert,
I never told you what an enormous impact you had upon me when we were children. Your interests informed and reinforced my own, and our conversations from that time echo through my own choices, interests and passions to this very day. Your loss is a great one not just for those of us who had the privilege of knowing you, but for all of the world that would have known and admired you. But, wherever you are, if you can be bothered with mere mortals such as us, know that you will live on as a central and formative influence in my own work - and most likely the work of many, many others. May God bless your gentle soul, and may your family find comfort and peace.
cynthia
August 30, 2006
tallpaula, i think of you and clayton and robert every day. i hope that you are some how finding peace.
Mom
August 18, 2006
This weekend would have been your final performances at Wolf Trap and we would have been there to cheer you on. You were so proud to be going to Wolf Trap and I know you would have been successful. I wish I could hear your beautiful voice on stage again.
Karina and Tony Weinstein
August 12, 2006
Without Robert this world is not as bright as it used to be... It is so unfair that the best ones are the first to go.
Miss you...
Matthew Leese
August 11, 2006
Mr. Samels,
Only with a little space have I been able to put into words how much influence you had on my development at IU. To me, you represent the true Renaissance man; a finger in every pie with the desire to understand the precise chemistry of every recipe. Your stunning musical ability was matched by your phenomenal intellect, wit, charm and most importantly, humility. To you, the swirl of trivial IU drama meant little, you were a man of integrity and honesty and for that I will always hold you in the highest of esteem. Working with you was always a pleasure, but especially memorable was during the Mattheson 'Saint John Passion'. I will, and already do miss making music with you.
To the Samels family, you have my deepest respect and sympathy.
Brian Mungo
July 25, 2006
Robert,
You are in our prayers, and missed by all your old Hoban buddies. Wish we had gotten a chance to say hello again. Mr. and Mrs. Samels, you are especially in our thoughts and prayers. As time passes, you can rest assured, that the happy happy memories of Robert will remain in the minds and hearts of those that really knew him.
Elisabeth Marshall
July 24, 2006
I just heard the clip of our quartet ("It is this way with men" from PILATVS)--it's astounding...thank you, Robert...
Miss you so much~
(roar!)
Mom
July 13, 2006
My beautiful son-you are missed and loved by so many. Your dad and I are lost without you.