Samuel Gore Campbell's Obituary
Samuel G. Campbell?s Obituary
Samuel Gore Campbell died Sunday, February 20, 2005, at his home in Fayetteville, Arkansas, at the age of 84, surrounded by his family.
Born on June 23, 1920, in Garfield County, Oklahoma, he spent the early years of his life on a farm, the only son of parents Elliott A. and Mabel Thompson Campbell.
Before coming to Arkansas in January 1984, Campbell was a newspaper editor in California. His editorials and columns were published coast to coast in the Freedom Newspapers group headquartered in Orange County. As associate editor of The Orange County Register, his writings reflected the Bible-based world view of the enterprise.
He was a member of a news team that took The Register, a suburban daily, to metropolitan status of 350,000 in the shadow of much larger dailies from Los Angeles and Long Beach. Register Executive Editor James Dean wrote of Campbell that he ?had the knack of humanizing the news so that it (the business pages) became one of the best read sections of our newspaper.? Later, Campbell moved to the advertising side as manager of advertising promotions. During this time, The Register became No. 1 in ad volume among all U.S. newspapers.
Campbell was a graduate of Enid (Oklahoma) High School, served three years in the Pacific during World War Two, returning to graduate from the University of Oklahoma. He later gained a Masters degree in journalism from UCLA. He edited weekly newspapers in Oklahoma, then went to California for editing jobs in Long Beach and Los Angeles.
In 1953, he was married to Mavis King. The couple had three daughters and a son.
In the 1960?s, Campbell helped to launch the conservative movement that began in Orange County, California. Sam was president of the county?s Conservative Coordinating Committee, which was the springboard for Ronald Reagan?s debut as a gubernatorial candidate. Later, he founded a bipartisan coalition that brought Democrat and Republican leaders together.
In 1970, he and bandleader Lawrence Welk were among four Californians to receive The God and Country Award of Congregation Mishkkan Yicheskel, a Jewish orthodox group, in Hollywood Palladium ceremonies.
Both husband and wife were active in the pro-life effort, believing that Christians should submit to jail rather than tolerate the killing of pre-born infants.
Since moving to Arkansas in 1984, Campbell worked in numerous local, county and State Republican political campaigns. On April 30, 1999, he received the Ronald Reagan Award for Principled Conservative Leadership at the Washington County Lincoln Day Dinner.
Campbell attended church for a number of years at Grace Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville. For more than 12 years he was a security guard at Hillcrest Towers, a residential high rise in Fayetteville.
He is survived by three sisters, Hazel Weatherby of Goddard, Kansas; Frances Bishop of Enid, Oklahoma; and Pauline Brauser of Edmond, Oklahoma. Another sister, Gail Reeves died earlier. He is also survived by his wife, Mavis Campbell of the home, and three daughters: Melinda Craun and her husband, Harold, of Tulsa; Lee Ann Crawford and her husband, Gahlen, of Colorado Springs; and Robin Byers and her husband, Colin, of Fayetteville. His grandchildren are Lauren and Jamie Craun; Rachel, Anna and Sarah Crawford; and Cameron, Kendall and Corrie Byers. He was preceded in death by a son, Sammy David, in 1994.
Funeral services are scheduled for Friday, February 25, at 1:00 p.m. at the Nelson-Berna Funeral Home Chapel, 4520 Crossover Road. Interment will follow at Fayetteville National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Arkansas Right to Life, any area crisis pregnancy center or Grace Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Fayetteville.
Visitation Date Time Thursday, February 24, 2005 6:00 PM till 8:00 PM Visitation Location Chapel of Nelson-Berna Funeral Home, 4520 North Crossover, Fayetteville, Arkansas Service Date Time Friday, February 25, 2005 2:00 PM Service Location Nelson-Berna Funeral Home with Dr. O. Gahlen officiating. Burial will follow in Fairview Memorial Garden in Fayetteville.
What’s your fondest memory of Samuel?
What’s a lesson you learned from Samuel?
Share a story where Samuel's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Samuel you’ll never forget.
How did Samuel make you smile?