DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) The morning of August 14 turned into a waking nightmare for a father and husband. Brian Prince arrived home from work to find his wife, Sam, unresponsive.
He attempted CPR, called 911, and did everything one has to do in such horrific circumstances.
Her heart had stopped beating for unknown reasons.
Brian’s sister, Jen Willkie, said she met Sam J. Prince 2 years ago when she began dating her brother. She said she wished she knew her more but, her heart was full of kindness.
Willkie said, “I wish I would have had more time to get to know her. She was very shy, but I have come to learn a lot about her through posts on Facebook. And she touched dozens, and dozens of people’s lives in her work as a childcare worker and teacher. Children were her passion, and she touched many lives throughout the years.”
Sam worked at Kids-N-Fitness in Decatur, and her sister said, “Children were her passion, and she touched many lives through the years.”
Her co-teacher, Angie Morrell, worked with her for four years in the infant room at Kids-N-Fitness. “She is a very giving person. She loved her kids. She went above and beyond for anyone that needed anything. She loved her family, the kids here. And, they come back and visit. They would call her mom all the time.”
Morell said she was “My person.” adding, “It’s hard knowing she is not going to come back.” She added, “She was there when my kids had milestones, and there when my mom passed away–anytime she was there to make sure I was okay.”
To Morell, she was the best friend you could have, and would do anything for anyone–a very giving person with a good heart.
In her obituary family wrote, “She was always helping others and would go above and beyond to make things special for others. Her greatest love was for her babies.”
Brian Prince is now left to weave the world of parenthood alone with three children. He has a 2 and half-week newborn and 4-year-old twins.
He works shift work at a plant with a swing rotation. The family set up a gofundme to help Brian with expenses during this time, and his ability to take 12 weeks off with FMLA. During those 12 weeks, he will not be paid by his employer.
On the GoFundMe, any funds raised that exceed the 12 weeks of pay will be put into bank accounts for the children’s educational futures. As of August 19, the fund exceeded its goal of $13,000.