Born in 1945, Sam came to Canada at the age of seven from Romania with his parents. He did not understand English but knew that he was coming to be with his brothers, Leizer and Joe, who had come to Canada first after surviving the Holocaust. Sam arrived in Saskatchewan in 1952 and lived on a farm with his parents and his brother Joe. There was no running water and the farm was very basic. Families lived far away from each other, so Sam learned to play on his own. From this humble Canadian beginning Sam went on to be a husband and father who cherished family and friends and loved the written word.