‘He touched so many people’: Remembering Gullah native Sam Christopher, helper to all
Samuel “Sam” Christopher, a Gullah native known widely in his community for his helping spirit and loving heart, died Saturday of a cardiac arrest. He was 51.
A crowd of over 150 both Gullah and non-Gullah friends of Sam gathered around a small traffic circle between the Sandalwood Terrace and Hilton Head Gardens apartments buildings Tuesday evening.
Over a hundred blue, white, and silver helium balloons were released into the sky in his memory. Some got caught in the trees.
Members of the Christopher family, a large Gullah family that has lived on the island since the 1800s, flocked from all over Beaufort County, Jasper County, and even Savannah for the celebration. Sam’s great grandfather had 13 children, noted Liz Christopher, one of Sam’s many cousins.
Although Sam lived with his mother at their home north of U.S. 278, he was a constant presence in the affordable housing communities of Sandalwood Terrace and Hilton Head Gardens, ready to lend a helping hand to anyone.
If someone was moving in or out, Sam was there lifting boxes. If he saw someone carrying groceries, he’d come help them without asking. If anyone needed him to go the store, he’d hop on his bike and ride away.
“The neighborhood is not going to be the same without him,” said Hilton Head Gardens resident Aquila Holmes.
The lively celebration featured music, singing, and plenty of food. No age group went unrepresented in the crowd — small children rode around on tricycles while their parents and grandparents chatted and ate hot dogs and chips.
At the center of the traffic circle, underneath a signpost announcing the event, and alongside a bouquet of blue and white flowers, sat a large cup of iced tea, a bag of Doritos, and a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon as a tribute to Sam.
“He touched so, so many people,” said Cora Miller, a storyteller and Harriett Tubman re-enactor at the Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park. Sam often volunteered at the Mitchelville park or at Gullah celebrations. “He’ll never be forgotten,” Miller said.
Sam’s bright red bike sat a few feet away, adorned with silver and gold balloons. “That was his new Porsche,” Miller joked. He used to give kids rides on his bike every morning before school, Miller said, making sure they got to the bus stop on time.
As she spoke, a hawk flew overhead. “Look up. That’s him flying,” she said.
At around 8:40 p.m., when most of the crowd had trickled away, three police cars arrived at the scene with their sirens on. They were responding to a call about a gunshot, one officer at the scene said.
They left quickly without making any arrests. Asked if they knew Sam, Staff Sergeant Wallace Crowley replied, “Oh yeah, everybody knows Sam. Sam was always around.”
