It is with great shock and profound sadness that the family of Samuel Branson Reynolds announces his sudden passing on July 11, 2025, from complications of an undiagnosed heart condition.

Sam was born at St. Mary’s hospital on June 2, 1982, weighing a whopping 9 lbs., 4 oz. Throughout his lifetime his presence continued to loom larger than life to those around him.

He attended Bishop Manogue Catholic High School, where his large presence paid off as he was a key player in assisting the Manogue football team to a 1999 State Football Championship. After high school, Sam was the first in his family to continue his education and obtain several college degrees. He received the Millennium Scholarship, which enabled him to graduate from the University of Nevada, Reno, earning bachelor degrees in History, Political Science, Spanish, and a Master’s in Education. The university enabled him to “study” abroad in Spain for a year, where he played American football for the Santurtzi Coyotes and taught Spanish children studying English for the Cambridge exams in Bilbao. He took advantage of that time to become immersed in Spanish, learning the language and exploring Europe with the friends he made abroad.

Sam spent time on the radio under the name Ghost Boy in his earlier years, but ultimately pursued his passion for education and fitness, teaching and coaching. He taught eight-grade Social Studies at Dilworth Middle School for over 10 years where he coached several sports and was also the Athletic Director for a time.

In his classroom, Sam was a strict teacher but always had his students’ best interests at heart earning their respect. He would often be greeted in public by former students.

One of his finest accomplishments was following in Sara Schopper’s footsteps and coaching the Manogue JV Girls basketball team through two undefeated seasons.

He was a good teacher and coach, with a love for history and learning. As a lifelong learner himself (AFTER high school) he spent hours listening to audio books, reading biographies, autobiographies, and books about history and self-improvement.

When Sam took on a project, he went ALL IN. He was passionate about adhering to the 75Hard program, stuck his toe into semi-pro wrestling, and, most recently, was training for a body building competition, bragging about his 8% body fat!

While his main drive was to educate and coach, he spent the past few years focused on experiences. He was a huge fan of live music describing it as “the world’s greatest art form” and traveled to New York, Boston, Virginia, Washington DC, Chicago, Memphis and other destinations to catch concerts. On those trips, he would cram in museums, historical sites, shows, plays, restaurants and miles of walking. He even saw Springsteen twice!

He had many nicknames in his life—BamBam, Samboango, Ghost Boy, Hollywood, Zam Dunk, Coach Sam, Mr. Reynolds and, most recently, Roughhouse Ray-Ray—the Stepdad You Wish You Had. He was game for almost anything, including a mullet and a mohawk (which he got after donating the mullet to childhood cancer patients).

Despite all those amazing experiences and accomplishments, he still couldn’t start the lawnmower or fix the drip system, but maybe that was by design. He wasn’t handy.

Throughout his life, Sam was surrounded by strong, intelligent women, his Noona, Tracy Long, Sandy Haslem, Renee Brooksbank, Sara Beth Brown, Sara Schopper, Sandy Powell and his mom Julie, who influenced his kind and thoughtful character. He was truly a genuine and honest person.

He is survived by his beloved mom Julie and stepdad Otto. Also missing him greatly are Auntie Joni and Uncle Max, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Shelley Anderson and their children, step-mom Renee Brooksbank, brothers Chris Rand, Aaron and Dylan Reynolds, cousin/sister Erica Prather (Randy), Aunt Dana (Gary) and Uncle Larry; his niece and nephew Nyah and Jacob Rand, and honorary nephews Elijah, Randy, and niece Sarai Prather and his fur family Jasper and Jocko, as well as several cousins and other family.

He was adored by his Noona and Papa, Andy and Jackie Anderson, who preceded him in death, as did his father Harry Reynolds.

We will all miss his intelligence, humor, and wit.

If Sam were helping write this, he would say, “Don’t sit in sadness, but rather embrace experiences.” “Chop wood, Carry water”

An After-Party for Sam will be held on September 20, 2025, at the Reno Elks Lodge, 597 Kumle Lane, with the doors opening at 1:00 and the party staring at 1:30. Dress code is casual concert or team spirit. Please submit written notes, letters, comments, shared music and photos to this link https://everloved.com/life-of…. We will have a close friend read from those sent to his family.

In lieu of flowers, please consider paying down the lunchroom debt of your local public school or at the WCSD at this Go Fund Me site Honoring-Sam-WCSD or by supporting the Food Bank of Northern Nevada at https://fbnn.org. 

Send to someone

Share this obituary with others

https://everloved.com/life-of/samuel-reynolds/obituary/

Copy