Samantha Knurek’s family, friends say she was artistic and compassionate

By Editor-in-Chief Allie Pecorin

Samantha “Sam” Knurek’s mom, Laurie Knurek, chooses to remember her daughter as adventurous. She recalls Sam zipping down a ski hill on one ski and flipping over the uneven parallel bars at gymnastics meets.

She hopes others will also remember Sam, 17, for the way in which she tried to live her life.

“She just had an adventurous soul,” Laurie said. “She was an amazing person. She was the light of our lives, and if you were a friend of Sam’s, you were never bored. She was creative. The stuff she came up with is unbelievable. She was super fun.”

Sam died suddenly on Tuesday, Nov. 26.

Several of Sam’s friends believe her most admirable traits were her ability to make others feel included, and to live life to the fullest.

Senior Kirty Krieger, a close friend of Sam’s, described Sam as spunky, adventurous, and fun.

“She had this warm glow about her, this piece of her character that just put people at ease around her,” Krieger said. “She was such a great listener and always had such a positive attitude even when times were truly grim. Sam was an individual, she was so strong, and she had the genuine kindness in her heart.”

Many of Sam’s friends echo this description, remembering her as lively and adventurous.

Caitlin Tucker, NNHS class of 2013, said that when she and Sam were bored, they would drive Tucker’s Jeep out as far away from city lights as they could, lay the seats back, and stare upwards at the stars.

Tucker said that moments like this, in which Sam demonstrated her daring nature, are what she needs to be remembered for.

“She was such a free spirit,” Tucker said. “She’s not the kind of girl who would worry about petty drama. All she was looking for was for everyone around her to be happy.”

According to Tucker, Sam was a talented artist and photographer.

“She was so artistically inclined,” Tucker said. “She did a lot of really cool art that had a lot of meaning behind it.”

Senior Viktorija Sinkeviciute, a friend of Sam’s, agreed with Tucker. She said that Sam was creative and inventive. She explored the world through a variety of passions.

“She was really big on yoga,” Sinkeviciute said. “She was really spiritual and such a good person. She loved nature and plants. She was deep and down to earth.”

Sam’s friends all described her as a “free-spirit.” According to Tucker, this spirit drove her in most things she did.

“I remember when we were best friends she would like let me put flowers and feathers in her hair and do hair braids,” Tucker said.

Tucker will treasure this moment because of Sam’s incredibly calm and happy outlook. She hopes that this is what others will remember about her.

Krieger, meanwhile, shares memories of time spent outdoors with Sam, who loved nature.

“She loved doing anything outside, no matter the season,” Krieger said. “She was so adventurous. We would go on a hike in the snow, or go rollerblading in the summer, or just to lay out and tan.”

Sam would have graduated in May with the class of 2014. She participated in girls gymnastics at NNHS during her freshmen and sophomore year.

Visitation for Sam will be held from 2:00-8:00 PM tomorrow, Sunday, Dec. 1, at Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Naperville. Funeral services will follow on Monday, Dec. 2, at 10:30 AM.