Dear Friends and Co-workers,

 As many of you already know, Samantha passed away at Tanner Medical Center on February 5, 2023.   She had been hospitalized since mid-October with sepsis and was critically ill for weeks and had been through many life-altering surgeries.  She was awaiting rehabilitation placement which was hindered by insurance issues for many weeks.    In mid- January she got pneumonia and was unable to fully recover from this set back.

It is difficult to fathom  that Samantha spent her last few months sick, bed-bound  and fighting for her life in the very place she worked ten plus years helping other’s regain theirs. Life is funny this way and no one could have predicted this.   She would be humbled and overwhelmed by the sweet tributes that have been popping up on Facebook from fellow nurses she worked with and mentored over the years.   Yes she was a SMART nurse.  Yes she took excellent care of her patients and she never backed down from a challenge.  Yes she was one of the funniest people who have ever walked the halls of Tanner Medical Center and the stories will live on for many years to come.   Yes she loved animals of all kinds, shapes and species and had a compassionate heart for all vulnerable creatures which ultimately got her banned from the city pound.  She would recruit co-workers to bail her kittys out of pound jail bc she couldn’t go back.  Yes she loved March Madness basketball and University of Georgia Football.  And Yes she loved her daughter, Ella,  more than Ella will probably ever know.   If we’re being honest it should be said “Sam’s  life was complicated”.  She navigated  her circumstances the best she knew how.    It wasn’t always the right way but it was HER way.   One thing is for certian, there isn’t another one like her and she was loved and will be remembered fondly for all the care and comfort she gave  to her patients during her nursing career, for all the laughs she gave her fellow nurses and for all the  dogs and cats she saved over the years!  What a unique mix of intellect,  humor and temperament Samantha Lea was.  Until we meet again, little Munk.    May you be whole and know you are loved.  
 

The family has asked for donations to be made for Ella’s college education in lieu of flowers.  You may still donate to Samantha’s Special Needs Trust and those funds will be placed in a 529 Education Plan that the family is setting up.  

 Donations  can be can be mailed directly to Southern States Bank, 905 Maple Street Carrollton, GA 30117.  Please make funds payable to Samantha Lea Smith Special Needs Trust.  You can also donate through  Venmo @SamanthaLSmithSNT