J. Diann Sams

Diann Sams (1947-2005)

I say, it’s the fire in my eyes

The flash of my teeth, the swing in my waist

And the joy in my feet,

I’m a woman phenomenally

Phenomenal woman, that’s me.



- excerpt from Maya Angelou’s "Phenomenal Woman"

Ithaca lost an extremely phenomenal woman and heroine on Friday, Oct. 28.

Beloved mother, grandmother, foster mother, relative, friend, freedom fighter, and "sistah-friend," Julia Diann Sams took her seat Friday morning on the bus with Rosa Parks, headed for that last stop in heaven where all civil rights heoes go. Diann saw her life’s work rewarded last weekend when 22 friends and family from Ithaca journeyed south to celebrate Diann’s inclusion on the Wall of Tolerance at the Civil Rights Memorial Center in Montgomery, Alabama.

Born Nov. 9, 1947, in Harford Mills, Diann was the youngest of 14 children of Jack and Florence Sams. Her greatest joy and pride in life were her two sons, New York State Trooper Bruce Joseph (wife BJ) Nelson and Ithaca Police Officer Jack Bradley Nelson -- whom she raised by herself. She also adored her grandchildren Alexander Joseph Nelson and Julianna Ali Nelson.

While she constantly battled rheumatoid arthritis most of her adult life, Diann continually embraced simply helping others. She stood up for justice, would not tolerate injustice, and rarely took "no" for an answer. Often that advocacy came at personal cost including physical threats and, in one sad case, being evicted from the home she helped build. But for Diann, what happened to her didn’t matter. She only wanted right to win.

Diann represented Ithaca’s Second Ward on Common Council for more than a decade. She was the first African American woman to serve on Ithaca’s Common Council, the first African American to head Ithaca when she served as the city’s acting mayor, and the city’s second African American to serve on the Ithaca City School District Board of Education. After 16 years in active public service, Diann retired in 2002 but kept civically active through family, friends, and the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC), our community center very close to her heart.

Diann took great pride in her advocacy and continued involvement in the development of GIAC -- including the Alex Haley Municipal Pool, her work to preserve the historical significance of the Southside community, and her strong efforts to raise awareness, and protecting the rights of, people with disabilities.

For her work in preserving and promoting human and civil rights, Diann received numerous accolades including the first New York State Harriet Tubman Humanitarian Achievement Award, Gov. Mario Cuomo’s New York State African Americans of Distinction Award, and the Tompkins County Human Rights Commission James L. Gibbs Award. She was most proud when she met and received public recognition from then-first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton on July 16, 1998.

Survivors include her sons, B. Joseph Nelson of Dryden and Jack Bradley Nelson of Ithaca; two grandchildren, Alexander Joseph Nelson of Syracuse and Julianna Ali Nelson of Ithaca; a brother, Lloyd A. (Edith) Sams of Syracuse; a sister-in-law Stella Sams of Cortland; nieces; nephews and a host of relatives and a large extended family throughout Central New York whose lives she touched in special ways. She was predeceased by her siblings, Jack, Robert, George, Thomas, Donald, Gerald, Ernest and Joseph Sams, Berenice Fagan, Patricia McGhee, Doris O’Daniel, Janet Roberts.

We love you Di!

Funeral services will be held at 1 pm Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2005 at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 201 North Cayuga St., Ithaca. Burial will follow in Harford Mills Cemetery, Harford Mills, NY. Friends are invited to call from 3 to 7 PM Tuesday at the Perkins Funeral Home, 55 West Main St., Dryden, NY. Those wising to remember Diann are asked to consider a memorial to an educational fund for her grandchildren, The Julia Diann Sams Fund, c/o CFCU, 1030-1050 Craft Road, Ithaca, NY 14850-1016.