Sampson loved trucks and cycles, cherished his friends

By Lauren Radomski (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Steve Sampson still remembers his son’s first four-wheeler. Joe Sampson was 16 years old and the recipient of his dad’s lifted ‘78 Chevy — the first in a long line of trucks Joe would come to adore.

“He just loved life,” Steve Sampson said of his son. “He worked jobs just to afford his hobbies.”

Family and friends are celebrating Joe’s life this week following his two-year battle with cancer. The 26-year-old Fergus Falls native died at Lake Region Hospital Saturday after fighting multiple brain and spinal tumors.

Joe may have loved his trucks and motorcycle, relatives say, but he was most dedicated to his friends.

“If you needed him he was always there,” said Angie Schultz, describing her younger brother as very loyal. “He’d drop everything he needed to do to help someone out.”

“Joe was very easygoing,” Sampson said. “He was everybody’s friend. He was always there for everybody and that’s why people loved him.”

Friends remember Joe as witty, resilient and a leader. Joe was the person who’d always order french fries at Chinese restaurants, said Cameron Hanson, and the guy who parked his truck up on the curb outside his house.

“You knew Joe was home and Joe drove when you saw that wheel up on the step,” Hanson said.

Not even Joe’s cancer diagnosis in June 2006 could dampen his spirit, relatives say.

“It was crazy because all of us broke down” following the diagnosis,” Schultz said, “but he held it together. He was always positive, even up to last week. Even days when he couldn’t talk he gave us the thumbs-up to let us know he was OK.”

“When he found out,” Sampson said, “he always said it could be worse.”

After his diagnosis, Joe made several trips to the Mayo Clinic, always joined by family. At various points, Joe would appear on the mend, his father said, but tumors continued to return, eventually reaching 10 total.

Yet Joe was ever himself. Barton Dewey recalls the ways his friend joked with hospital staff.

“The nurses loved him,” Dewey said. “They’d come in smiling.”

Joe’s family has hosted a number of benefits the past two years, including the Dough for Joe Bike Run, which will return for its third go-around July 26.

“Now it’s just (for) his legacy,” said Joe’s step-father, Stan Johnson. “We’re going to continue to have it and we’re going to donate (the proceeds) to a child with cancer.”

Joe’s mother, Julie Johnson, said she will continue to collect pop tabs both at her home and her store, Sew Perfect Bridal Formalwear and Alterations. Proceeds from those tabs will support Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Sampson said his family’s experience has taught him how much benefit events truly help families struggling with illness.

“If anything,” he said, “I wish people could realize how important those things are.”