From the South Orange Maplewood Adult School:
The South Orange Maplewood Adult School Board of Trustees and Staff mourn the passing of Eva Samo at age 103 (November 1, 1921 – January 10, 2025). Eva’s remarkable 51-year career as the longest serving staff member left an indelible mark in the Adult School’s history and in the lives of the many staff, students and trustees she mentored and supervised.
During her career, Eva held various positions at the Adult School, rising from Registrar, to Executive Secretary, Assistant Director (1970-1977), and then Associate Director (1977-1996). Eva mentored countless trustees on the Adult School board by the way she “showed up” with her brilliance, fierce good sense, and an uncanny instinct for creating new initiatives for the community’s evolving needs. In recalling Samo, long-time Adult School Trustee Rose Gilbert noted, “Eva was so much more than a member of the staff: she was an idea engine! The main brain and strong hand that guided the Adult School as it evolved into the vital organization immortalized by the United States Library of Congress’ Bicentennial Local Legacy Program.”
Trustee Emily Zacharias elaborated upon Gilbert’s statement, noting that “Eva was the guiding soul and spirit of The Adult School.” Trustee Rich Cohen fondly recalled that “Eva loved our community and in her feisty but loving way, made it a better place for all of us.”
Eva was particularly influential in establishing a number of seminal Adult School and community activities of lasting importance:
● When, in 1974, local parents bemoaned the lack of local summer programs for their children, Eva called a meeting of representatives from the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education, local recreation departments, and local libraries to serve as an advisory committee to create a community Children’s Summer Program. For six years the Children’s Summer Program was a joint effort, but in 1980 it became the full responsibility of SOMAS.
● In 1983, the summer advisory committee that Eva had established in association with the local YMCA, developed a much-needed After School Program. The After School Program was later assumed by the YMCA.
● Eva was also the catalyst for the South Orange-Maplewood First Night Program – a family friendly New Year’s Eve program which was held for many years.
● In 1975, Eva was designated “Woman of the Year” by the local newspaper, The News-Record of Maplewood and South Orange. She and her husband, Harvey Samo who predeceased her, were both recipients of the Maple Leaf Award, a community service award, in 1993.
In 1996, in appreciation of the enormous time and love that Eva invested in establishing high quality lectures for the Adult School, the Board of Trustees renamed its “#1 Course” as “The Eva Samo Lecture Series”. Over the years, Eva and Harvey Samo provided generous funding to support the series, which continues to attract astounding speakers each year and memorializes Eva’s steadfast commitment to lifelong learning.
In remarks following Eva’s passing, the Adult School’s Board President Amy Dahn affirmed the school’s gratitude. Dahn shared, “Eva Samo remained involved with the Adult School as a volunteer consultant and generous donor for her remaining years. Eva was a beacon of light in our community – her dedication and personal commitment to the South Orange-Maplewood Adult School has left an indelible mark and is a lasting legacy not only to our organization, but also to the greater community. We will be forever grateful to her. We offer our heartfelt condolences to Eva’s sons and daughters-in-law Daniel and Jeanette Samo, Toby Samo and Genie Landon, to their immediate and extended family, and to all who knew Eva.”
The Adult School will publicly recognize Eva’s legacy on March 24, 2025 at its biennial event, “Likely Stories”, held at the Woodland in Maplewood, NJ.