Samantha Lee Seward

On June 19, 2021, Samantha Lee Seward met her heavenly Father after 49 years of faithful, devoted and intentional servitude to her Lord and Savior.
Sam was born in Falls Church, Virginia, but she began her walk with the Lord at Indiana University when she was 19 years old. From that day on, Sam’s life was dedicated to telling the Good News and using her life to propel God’s ultimate plan.

Like God, Sam loved a well-thought out plan and she was intentional in every conversation, relationship and opportunity God gave her. In April 2009, Sam was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Even in the midst of a grim diagnosis, Sam took up her cross and fought cancer with grace, faith, strength, purpose and a healthy amount of sass.

Cancer did not have an easy opponent with Sam Seward. She sat through rounds of chemotherapy and endured long hospital stays. When Sam saw the negative effects of chemotherapy and other cancer-treating drugs, she researched alternate options and self-advocated for holistic cancer treatments. Sam tried keto before it was a mainstream diet. Through intentional eating and holistic medicine, Sam successfully beat cancer, which gave her time to raise her three precious girls. When cancer treatments options ran out, Sam travelled to the Mayo Clinic and MD Anderson to seek further treatment options she could find.

As a labor and delivery nurse, Sam was well-equipped to challenge traditional medical care. Her over 20 years of experience executing birth plans and bringing countless babies into the world taught Sam that personal choice and options are essential to medical treatment. Sam’s doctors will remember her as a patient armed with research and questions that challenged their status quo.

While her fight with cancer may have been a defining battle of Sam’s life, it was not the most important thing about Sam. She married the love of her life, David Seward in 1994 and the two built a home from a deep foundation of faith. David and Sam were blessed with three girls, Kate, Kenna and Carley, but they extended their home to include any neighbor, friends and stranger God aligned them with. One year ago, Sam added another girl to her family, Stephany. All of her girls were a great sense of comfort and a source of strength for Sam in her final days. Sam loved sunshine on her face, bundling up with blankets next to a fire, babies, ham croquettes, boat rides, puppy dogs, musicals and the Miami Hurricanes. She was always honest, loving and came equipped with a plan.

Sam’s plans didn’t always align to God’s plans, but Sam never lost her faith and was unchanging in her belief in God’s purpose despite earthly trials. With only a few days left to live, Sam and David opened their home to give loved ones a last chance to speak with Sam. In these final moments, Sam continued to speak the truth and charged all those she loved to continue to live and find hope in God. Sam was also on Zoom calls with family from across the country all the way to England.

When she had said all her goodbyes, Sam was ready to end her earthly mission and meet her maker where she would find complete healing. Sam was in her earthly home with her mother, Nancy, when the Lord took her to her eternal home on June 19.

Sam’s legacy is left behind in her husband, David Seward; her daughters, Kate, Kenna, Carley, Stephany; her mother, Nancy; her brother, Chris; her stepfather, Jack; her stepmother, Jimbo, her in-laws, Tom and Thelma Seward; and her stepsisters, Jacqueline Gerhardt and Cameron Johnson. God blessed Sam with friends, family and neighbors that supported and surrounded the Seward family with meals, rides, laundry service and countless prayers. Sam is preceded in death by her father, James Douglas Fuller.

Sam’s family and friends will celebrate a race well run at Zionsville Fellowship (9090 West Oak Street, Zionsville, IN 46077). Visitation will be on Wednesday, June 23 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Thursday, June 24 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. A funeral service will take place on Thursday, June 24 at 11 a.m. followed by a private graveside service.

Click here to link to the livestream of Sam’s funeral service: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJEPCfi8F-c