Samuel Benjamin Grossberg, z”l

Samuel's Story...

As told by Kenneth Grossberg, Samuel's father

Champion Status

In Beloved Memory

Tell us about your hero

Samuel was one of the most emotionally generous people you will ever meet. If he knew a friend was moving, he would show up to help them even if they never asked for it. He loved children and was a beloved camp counselor with Ha Noar HaOved VeHaLomed youth movement. During his service in the IDF (Israel Defense Force) as a lone soldier, he was a leadership trainer (madrich) in Israel’s Navy and was honored by being named Outstanding Soldier (Mitstayen HaNasi) of the Haifa naval base. Sam loved a party. He also cherished friendships, which he was lucky to have had from childhood until his untimely death at the age of 33. Some of them were with him in the hospital when he breathed his last, and we have met every year at his graveside as a group to celebrate his blessed memory. For a person as full of life as he was to succumb to his incurable cancer at such an early age is hard to accept. His friends started a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for a bone marrow transplant, which, sadly, he never got to use, but on his deathbed, he asked for those funds (if people did not want them back) to be used for children suffering from cancer. As a result, there will be a playroom for those children at Sheba Medical Center named after him.

Tell us about their cancer-related journey

Sam began to have symptoms and was first diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma, but then he developed other symptoms and received a much more threatening diagnosis of non-Hodgkins lymphoma of the brain and central nervous system, which is currently incurable. So began a year of hope, worry, suffering, and medical treatments. Because Samuel was young and strong, all his loved ones felt that he would be the exception and beat the cancer, but it was not to be. He received excellent care throughout his ordeal from the doctors and staff at Sheba Medical Center.

How have you been inspired by your hero?

Samuel was inspiring in the courage with which he faced his illness. He was stoic throughout, enduring pain and frustration with calm and humor. He demonstrated real bravery despite the physical and psychological toll his cancer took.

What is your hero's favorite mantra, quote, or saying?

"Sababa." (Hebrew word for cool)

Why is ICRF important to you?

ICRF is fighting cancer where it can be most effectively beaten—in the laboratory and the clinic.