Scott A. Samuelson, 62, of Richland, WA, beloved husband, daddy, and grandpa, ended his valiant battle with ALS and went home to his Father in heaven on Sunday, July 10, 2022.  Scott was born in Wichita Falls, TX but soon moved to Nampa, ID.  As a teen, he moved to Lakewood, WA where he played varsity football, basketball, and baseball, graduating from Lakes High School with honors and as Scholar Athlete. Scott attended Eastern Washington University, played football there and graduated with a BA in Management Information Systems.  While at EWU, he met his future wife, Karen.  It was love at first sight and less than two weeks after meeting, he asked her to be his wife.  The Lord blessed them with 43 loving years together that ended far too soon.  During college, Scott developed a passion for all things IT that he never lost.  He went on to work in the IT field, acquiring expertise in virtually all areas.  The last 10 years he thoroughly enjoyed being a Cybersecurity Manager and thrived doing “white hat” penetration testing/intrusion detection.   Even after the ALS had claimed almost all movement of his hands and body, he still doggedly worked to use his computer although bedridden and on a ventilator.

Scott loved Jesus above all, his family (which also included his dogs, kids and grandkids of his heart, and his church family), all animals, God’s creation, and football (especially Seahawks!).  He held each member of his family in his heart and prayers every day, even when distance kept them separated.  He truly enjoyed working with children and youth at churches and was deeply humbled on Father’s Day when he received a huge stack of cards from kids and adults in whose lives he had made a difference.  He rescued dogs for 43 years.  He always took in those with “special needs” due to severe abuse or serious health issues.  He would say, “They are the ones who rescued us.”

ALS is brutal.  Scott’s church (Richland Baptist Church) staff, church family and family of his heart were with him every step of the way.  Whatever the need, they figured out a way to meet it.  To all of them, our gratitude is unending!  We are also sincerely grateful for the doctors and medical staff who treated him with skill and compassion.

Scott is survived by his wife, Karen; daughter, Bethany (Severn) Bannow; granddaughter, Grace; sister, Kristi Samuelson; sister-in-law, Jann (Larry) Hughes, cousins, and nieces.

Please join us as we celebrate Scott’s life on Friday, July 22 at 3pm at Richland Baptist Church.

Donations may be made to ALS.org.