Joshua Sampson Obituary

Joshua David Sampson
Athens, Ga. - Joshua David Sampson, 48, of Athens, Ga., died in a sudden accident at his home on Sunday October 24, 2021. Josh was a beloved husband, father, son, brother, friend and teacher.
Born in Aiken, he lived in South Carolina until the age of 12 when his family moved to Athens, Ga. He attended school in Athens graduating from Cedar Shoals High School and earning his teaching degree from the University of Georgia. Josh began his teaching career in Conyers, Ga teaching high school English for several years. Josh, his wife and son returned to Athens where he taught English at Cedar Shoals for close to two decades. He was a popular teacher and Master Scheduler for the students at the school. Josh was passionate about his teaching, his fellow teachers, and the students and in 2016 was named Teacher of the Year. He talked about how he saw each class as a mixture of students who didn't want to be there, those who are all right with school, and those who were hungry for knowledge. His reward came when he could find ways to spark the hunger for knowledge in all the kids. During his career he worked with many student teachers and helped them on their path to being teachers. Josh was a quiet person who would often go and sit with the student who seemed to be alone and share a conversation with them. He was a regular customer to the Friday coffee shop hosted by the special needs students and team.
In addition to teaching, Josh was passionate about running. He was an active member of the running club in Athens and completed many marathons through the years. Running was something he could do anywhere and he would often go on long runs with friends from the club and family members. Josh was also passionate about helping others. He volunteered at Project Safe in Athens for many years and he was a regular platelet donor at the Atlanta Blood Services at Northside Hospital in Atlanta where he was recognized for the many donations he made. At the time of his death he was close to his 150th donation.
Josh is survived by his wife Stacy and son Henry in Athens and his parents Harry and Caroline Sampson, his sister Holley Sampson-Kring (Brent), nephew Cole Kring and niece Cayce Kring, all of Aiken. As well as many extended family members in Athens.
A service to celebrate Josh's life will be held Friday October 29, 2021 at Cedar Shoals High School in Athens, Ga at 1:30pm. The family ask that you reach out to your love ones and give them a hug because in a heartbeat they could be gone. He was called too young but we are thankful to God for the time we were blessed to have him with us.