Deceased January 28, 2015
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In Memory
Sam and I were brothers in Phi Delta Theta and got to know each other through our mutual friendship with John Lancaster ’51, with whom we were both very close. We shared many classes together with Professors Latham and Salmon.
Sam had a driving interest in baseball and was a pitcher on the College team. After college he and Lancaster extended their interest in the sport as active practitioners in something called “phantom baseball.”
After college and a stint in the Navy, Sam became a partner at what was then a major accounting firm, Arthur Anderson. Sam hosted many Amherst-oriented meetings in his New York City office at Anderson.
Sam was an avid golfer, an interest we both shared, as well as an enthusiastic traveler. After Sam married Connie, his second wife, Joan and I enjoyed many Maloney adventures with Sam and the delightful Connie, starting with the Far East, during which trip we were able to host an anniversary dinner for John and Freddie Lancaster at a famous restaurant in Bangkok, just two nights before John’s dreadful accident.
Sam’s abiding interest in the College was again evident when he teamed up with Lancaster as a very dedicated and enthusiastic class agent who gave me no peace as an associate. Again, Sam demonstrated his love for Amherst when he and Connie donated a team room in the Alumni Gym known as the Sam Watson ’51 room; it is in the Athletic Media Center, Rm. 1222, the dedication of which Joan and I were privileged to attend.
Sam and Connie had wonderful homes in New Smyrna Beach, Fla.; Sierra Madre, Calif.; and Blue Hill, Maine, the latter of which we visited. Connie and Sam were marvelous hosts and tour guides.
All of us who knew him, as well as the College, will miss Sam.
Gary Holman ’51