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Submitted: 10/9/24 • Approved: 10/12/24 • Last Updated: 10/15/24 • R603001-G0-S3
August 21, 1991 - December 14, 2023
*Obituary
Samuel Ray Sparrow, lovingly known as Sammy, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, December 14, 2023, in Austin, Texas. He was 32 years old. Sammy was a beloved son, a loving brother, an awesome uncle, and a best friend.
Sammy made his grand entrance into this world on Wednesday afternoon, August 21, 1991 in Nederland, Texas to Lizneth Sparrow and James Ray Sparrow, Jr. He might as well have been born with a baseball in hand. Baseball was his life for a long time. As a toddler, Sammy would run around with his yellow plastic bat hitting whatever he could: baseballs, golf balls, bees, etc. As a kid, Sammy played baseball at Groves National Little League, making all-stars every year he was eligible. He continued playing on traveling select teams which took him across the United States on many adventures. Select ball also allowed him to meet many different people. As a teenager, Sammy played for Mid-County Babe Ruth, attended baseball camps at Texas A&M and LSU (his absolute favorite school). Sammy also played ball throughout his high school career. He played for the Port Neches – Groves Indian varsity baseball team and enjoyed repping the purple and white colors. Although a true Texan, Sammy only cheered for the Boston Red Sox along with his sister and against his families’ Yankee and Astros wishes. He was never worried about the possible fighting words that would come from attending a Yankees vs. Red Sox game in New York wearing his red and blue. Of course, he made it a point to travel to Fenway Park to watch the Boston Red Sox play which was a true highlight of his life. Another favorite memory he loved to talk about was traveling with his mom, Liz to Cooperstown, New York to walk through the Baseball Hall of Fame Museum.
“Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” Babe Ruth
Sammy absolutely loved the Dallas Cowboys just like his baby brother, Daniel. Often taking over the family TV, Sammy and Daniel would cheer, yell, pace, cry, stomp, and commentate on their favorite team’s win or loss. He especially loved getting to go Jerry World to watch the Cowboys play with Daniel. I know it meant the world to him to spend the time and road trip with his Little Bro. Growing up in a true house divided fueled constant banter in almost every sport, but especially during football and baseball season, so basically, this happened year-round. We will especially miss the hilarious memes that would be sent to us if one of our teams lost to one of his, or if our team lost period.
Although born in Nederland, Sammy spent his childhood in Groves, Texas along with his siblings, Lourdes and Daniel. Being the middle child, Sammy always had a sibling to play with or lovingly pick on. Childhood days were spent playing baseball in the backyard, playing Mario games on the Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, or Game Cube, watching movies over again, or playing board games. These are some of the best memories and were always fun. The many games of Uno or Monopoly would end with one of the siblings being a little prickly to each other but were always worth it. We will continue the tradition with Sammy’s rather prickly nephew, with whom the uncles would never “let” win. Sammy loved playing video games from the moment he could hold a controller and always carried his Nintendo Switch around. There was not a game he could not figure out. One of the best skills he learned at an early age was to solve the Rubik’s Cube in a speedy time and sometimes with his eyes closed. As an uncle, Sammy always played video games with Xander and loved taking his nephew to catch Pokémon in his spare time. His little minion will always cherish these moments with his Uncle Sam.
Sammy graduated from Port Neches – Groves High School in 2009. After high school, Sammy attended Texas A&M at Kingsville, once again going against the grain and continuing the house divided tradition since the rest were Texas Longhorns. That being said, Sammy was only ever an LSU Tiger. Sammy worked as an insurance agent, constantly learning policy, and doing whatever possible to help his clients. He was a kind individual that truly wanted to help anyone that asked for help.
Music was always important in the Sparrow household. Sammy participated in choir during his younger life and enjoyed many genres of music. He had basic belief that music could speak to the soul and this thought kept Sammy moving and sometimes made him feel more than he could bare. Sammy was the intelligent sibling, not to say the others aren’t smart, but hard work was needed where it came easy to their brother. He was so smart that he was a self-taught pianist and guitar player. During the last several years, Sammy worked at many music concerts at night or on weekends, getting to see several of his favorite artists perform and always sharing videos and pictures with friends and family who could not attend. Being a lucky receiver of some of these messages was a true honor and something that will be cherished forever. Sammy also enjoyed attending concerts such as watching Elton John, The Killers, and Queen, just to name a few. The thoughtfulness of Sammy in sharing his experiences made him happy and us proud.
Sammy was an avid reader and writer. He would have critiqued my writing until it was perfect. Growing up, Sammy, Daniel, and Lourdes had a true love for Harry Potter, a series that made life better during some of the worst times. Sammy could quote many books with his photographic memory and was a true secret weapon at any trivia night. It was a honor to travel to Universal with my adult brother and see the little boy in him get excited about the Wizarding World. Shopping for wands, riding rides, and drinking butter beer made the experience better by his presence. Harry Potter made such an impact on Sammy, that he even started authoring his own short stories. Growing up, he was my Harry Potter character. He was meant for greatness, he would persevere. He thought of himself more of a Slytherin, and maybe he was in the end. A Slytherin like Snape, the character that lead his life through love, always love. Sammy was love, always love.
“But you know, happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” – Albus Dumbledore
Sammy loved traveling and was always ready for his next trip. Whether snowboarding in Colorado, fishing in Florida, riding rollercoasters at Disney, watching fireworks in New York, visiting the beach in California, or catching a ball game in Boston, Sammy lived an adventurous life and loved making memories with friends and family.
Sammy believed in God and the love and goodness of people. He adored animals, and often showed up with more pets every time we saw him. Throughout his life, he was a happy pet owner of dogs, cats, parakeets, fish, turtles, rabbits, a pot belly pig named Max, and at one-point squirrels. The squirrels were injured, and Sammy couldn’t leave them, so he decided we should nurse them back to health. They eventually got better and were set free. Sammy’s best friend and favorite pet of all will always be Hook. He knew unconditional love through the love of this dog and vice versa. Hook and Sammy saved each other many times over the years. Their love for each other will live on forever. Our brother had the biggest heart. He loved fiercely and we take comfort in knowing he is at peace and surrounded by light.
Sammy is survived by his loving mother, Lizneth Sparrow; sister, Lourdes Litchfield and husband, Michael; brother, Daniel Sparrow and fiancé, Isabella Tucker; abuelo, Jose Guerra; abuelita, Colombina Gonzalez; nephew, Alexander “Xander” Litchfield, and beloved pet Hook.
He is survived also by his father, James Ray Sparrow, Jr.; sister, Jennifer Womack; and brother James “Bubba” Ray Sparrow, III.
Sammy is preceded in death by his grandmother, Lola Belle Sparrow and grandfather, James Ray Sparrow.
A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, January 6, 2024, at Unity Church of the Hills in Austin, Texas from 2-5 pm. In lieu of flowers, a memorial donation can be made in tribute to Sammy Sparrow to Austin Pets Alive! at https://www.austinpetsalive.org/donate/ways-of-giving or at Austin Pets Alive, P.O. Box 736245, Dallas, TX, 75373-6245.
Source: centraltexascremation.com
Contributed on 10/9/24 by ashaw444
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Record #: 603001