Helen Sams passes

2013-02-26

By Pat Cooper

Just three weeks after losing one of its most beloved icons, Fayette County has lost another. Dr. Helen Sams passed away on February 23.
The wife of the late Ferrol Sams, Jr., Dr. Helen was one of Fayette County’s first female doctors, who met and married her husband in July 1948. They opened a private practice together in Fayetteville in 1951 and, in 1987, established the Fayette Medical Center. She was also the matriarch of a large and successful family which includes, educators, doctors and a judge.
She is survived by her four children Dr. Ferrol & Kathy Sams, III; Ellen & Luke Nichols; Dr. Jim & Marie Sams; and Honorable Fletcher & Dana Sams, all of Fayetteville; eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren; three brothers, Max Fletcher of Greensboro, FL; Dr. T.B. Fletcher and Dr. John Fletcher, both of Tallahassee, FL, as well as several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held today, Wednesday, February 27, at 3 p.m.at the Fayetteville First United Methodist Church. She will lie in state from 2 to 3 p.m. Rev. Mark Westmoreland and Dr. Sam Matthews will officiate. A private burial will be held later. The family will receive friends on Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations in her memory to the Joseph Sams School.