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Samuel Westmoreland Obituary

Born May 29, 1944, Professor Samuel Douglass Westmoreland (Sam) departed this life on October 24, 2022. He was born to the late Ella Dee Westmoreland and Nip T. Westmoreland. Sam was preceded in death by his sister Ella Mae Singletary and grandson Wade Lee, Jr. He will be remembered by his loving family and friends, including his wife of 45 years, Mary Westmoreland; children: Diana Haskins Westmoreland, Lesia Westmoreland, and Samara (James) Touchton; siblings: Winona Smith, Nip Westmoreland, and Willie Westmoreland; grandchildren: Brittany, Samuelle, Travelle, Cordell, Malcolm, Ezekiel, Zoe, and Eliana; great-grandchildren: Julian, Zacahari, Joel, Anji, Jeremiah, Cordell Jr, Joshua, Malachi, Mayvian, and Phoenix; as well as many beloved nieces and nephews.
 While we remember Sam for his wit and his laughter and love of people, we also are proud of his many achievements and accomplishments in life. Sam was raised in Downingtown, PA and attended Downingtown High School, where he was an outstanding athlete, receiving recognitions for his abilities in football and basketball; he also played baseball. After high school graduation in 1962, Sam attended Kutztown State College, where he played football for 4 years, basketball for 2 years, and track for 1 year. He graduated in 1966 with a B.S. in Education. Over the next several years, he earned an M.Ed. from Kutztown University and an M.A. from Lehigh University.
 After college, Sam was employed by the Reading YMCA as a detached (gang) worker for one year and then moved on to the Coatesville Area School District as a ninth grade World Cultures teacher. In 1971, he was hired by Kutztown University as an instructor in Sociology, with special interests in Deviancy/Delinquency and the Sociology of Sports. Sam was an Emeritus Associate Professor of Anthropology and Sociology and served as the coordinator of the sociology program for 15 years and was involved in various college committees and campus activities. He was most committed to achieving diversity on campus and actively served as a member and/or chair for the Alumni Association, the Human Diversity Committee, the Committee on the Status of Minorities, the Committee on the Status of Women, the Black Faculty Caucus (co-founder and chair for 6 years) and the National Coalition Building Institute.
 In the later years of his life, Sam supported senior citizens in the Family Resource Center and was active in social/civic organizations: the Double-Knot Club and the Gentleman Club.
 Throughout his life, Sam lived courageously with chronic illness, having been diagnosed with the autoimmune disease sarcoidosis, which, over time, affected his ability to participate in the various activities and passions that he had, which included fishing, spending times with friends and family, enjoying a good show, reading, and eating good food. Sam was also a survivor of prostate cancer and found joy in providing support and counseling to individuals coping with sarcoidosis and prostate cancer.
Viewing will be Wednesday, November 2, 2022 from 10 to 11 AM at Grace Church, 622 Old Lancaster Pike, Shillington, PA 19607. Religious service will follow at 11 AM. Interment at Charles Evans Cemetery, Reading.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations in memory of Samuel to the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research, 320 West Ohio Street, Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60654.
Arrangements entrusted to John P. Feeney Funeral Home, Inc. 625 N. 4th Street at Centre Ave., Reading, PA 19601, 610-372-4160.

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