Jamestown Resident Delores Sam Remembered for Community Work and Travel

Delores Sam, 76, of Jamestown, passed away Dec. 26, 2025 at Eventide – Jamestown. Born May 8, 1949 in Medina, she grew up in the county and attended Medina Public School, remaining closely connected to local families and businesses throughout her life.

Sam spent much of her working life in Stutsman County’s service and nonprofit sectors. Her employment history included stints at McDonald’s, Burger King, Ponderosa and Wagon Masters, and she later worked with Easter Seals and Goodwill. She also participated with Green Thumb and Experience Works, programs that provide job training and work opportunities for older adults. Those roles placed Sam at the center of everyday community life: serving customers, supporting local nonprofit operations and navigating workforce programs that many older residents rely on for supplemental income and purpose.

Her personal interests included travel; she visited Disney World and Mount Rushmore, keeping family photo albums and stories of those trips that were often shared at local gatherings. Sam was preceded in death by her parents and siblings. She is survived by nieces, nephews and a great-nephew who remain in the Jamestown area.

A memorial service was scheduled for Jan. 7, 2026 at Eddy Funeral Home in Jamestown. Families and neighbors used the service to mark her life and the contributions she made to restaurants and nonprofit operations across the county.

Sam’s life reflects broader local patterns: Stutsman County’s economy relies heavily on retail, food service and nonprofit employers that provide flexible, accessible work for older residents. Participation in programs such as Green Thumb and Experience Works underscores how community supports help older adults stay engaged in the labor force and maintain social connections. For many households in Jamestown, that mix of service-sector employment and community programs is an important part of family income and civic life.

For residents who knew Sam, her passing is a reminder of longstanding personal and economic ties that bind the county: small workplaces where friendships formed, nonprofit organizations that sustained neighbors, and care facilities such as Eventide – Jamestown that serve the community’s aging population. Memorial attendees were encouraged to share remembrances with the family through Eddy Funeral Home.