In Memory of Sam Fish

Spouse: Naoko Fish
Children: Ariella, Nathaniel, Raphael, Daniel, Michelle
DOB: October 3, 1950
Blessing Date: July 1, 1982
Ascension: March 24, 2025
Seonghwa Ceremony: April 4, 2025 at 11:00 AM PST, Seattle Family Church, 7000 26th Avenue NW, Seattle, WA 98117
Zoom link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/251525455
Password: 2020
Wonjeon (burial): April 4, 2025 at 2:30pm PST, Holyrood Cemetery, 205 N 205th St, Shoreline, WA 98155
Send flowers to: Seattle Family Church, 7000 26th Avenue NW, Seattle, WA 98117 (morning delivery of 9AM on Friday April 4, 2025)
GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/16b2039f

Sam was born on October 3rd, 1950 in the Bronx, New York, the first of two sons born to Harry and Eva Fish. He was a first-generation American born to Jewish parents who immigrated from Poland. 

After spending his earliest years in New York City, his parents relocated to rural New Jersey to become chicken farmers. His parents felt it was important for their son to have a “good Jewish education,” so Sam spent his school years living with his maternal aunt and uncle in Brooklyn, attending Yeshiva school with his cousins from the age of five. Summers were spent on his parents’ farm, where he and his cousins (who were more like siblings than cousins) shared many happy memories exploring the countryside. 

From an early age, Sam had a passion for math and science. When his religious high school didn’t teach certain subjects needed for admission into the college program of his choice, he found a way to fulfill the prerequisites by teaching himself subjects such as physics and calculus. He graduated from high school in 1968 and, inspired by the Apollo program, went on to study electrical engineering at the City College of New York. After graduating, and a brief stint living on a kibbutz in Israel, Sam began his professional career as a hardware design engineer working on satellite communication systems for a company in Boston. After several years in Boston, Sam moved to Indiana to pursue his master’s in electrical engineering at Purdue University. 

When he was a semester away from completing his master’s degree, Sam felt a sudden call to take a solo cross-country road trip to California. He dropped everything, packed his life into his car, and hit the road. As he recalled, he’d been in San Francisco for only a day or two when he met Dr. Donald Mull in a meeting that would change the course of his life. He joined the Unification Church in 1977 and stayed on the West Coast. 

While in California, he took teaching appointments first on the faculty of Heald Engineering College, and later at the City College of San Francisco. He did later return to Purdue University to complete the final semester of his master’s program in 1984 (nearly 10 years after starting his program), after several prompts by his professor who wondered where he had gone. 

Sam was Blessed in marriage to his wife Naoko on July 1, 1982, at Madison Square Garden in New York. Sam and Naoko moved to Seattle in 1988 to start their family - a place they would call home for the remainder of his life. He was a dedicated member of the local Seattle Family Church community for nearly 40 years and contributed to his community in the best way he knew how: through tutoring math. He spent many years as a Math Olympiad coach, preparing teams of young BCs to compete in math competitions across Washington State. In addition to coaching teams of young people, he tutored several students individually or in small groups, spending many hours preparing lesson plans for advanced calculus and trigonometry. 

Fascinated by computers and programming language, Sam worked on computer systems and applications for many years for the Shining Ocean Seafood Company in Seattle. Later, he worked as a software developer for the state of Washington. After retirement, he enjoyed spending time with his family in Seattle and visiting his children in California and England. 

Sam passed away peacefully in the presence of his wife and children on March 24, 2025, following an unexpected month-long stay in the hospital.

Sam is survived by his wife Naoko and his five children: Ariella (Robin), Nathaniel, Raphael (Koka), Daniel and Michelle, granddaughter Emma, and younger brother Abe. He will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and all who knew him. May his memory be a blessing.