JENNINGS Samuel P. Jennings, 81, died of prostate cancer on April 24, 2014. Mr. Jennings held several executive financial management positions at IBM. He was Vice-President, Finance and Planning for three different Groups, and was Assistant Group Executive for the Asia Pacific Group, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, where the Jennings lived for over four years. In his last year in Japan, Mr. Jennings was a Senior Managing Director for IBM Japan. Sam loved his job and all the wonderful people he worked with during his 30 years with IBM. Above all else, Sam was a family man, and nothing was more important to him than Carlotta (de Sylva), his loving wife of 47 years; their four children, Peter (Ericka), Christopher (Priscilla), Bridget and Robert (Maria); and his five grandchildren. A Memorial Mass to celebrate his life will be held at 12:00 p.m. noon, Friday, May 2, 2014 at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Sam s memory can be made to the General Scholarship Fund of Villanova University, Re: Samuel P Jennings, Development Office, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA, 19085. Please visit our online Tribute at www.quinn-shalz.com. Services under the direction and care of: Please Sign the Guestbook @ Jacksonville.com

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Florida Times-Union on Apr. 29, 2014.

Memories and Condolences
for Samuel Jennings

Sponsored by Jacksonville.com.

9 Entries

May 5, 2014

What a beautiful service; he would have loved it! His children represented him so well and truly love him. I am a better person today because of Sam. He taught me to appreciate life's gifts and make the most of each day.

Paul T

May 3, 2014

Thoughts and prayers for the family, may your precious memories continue to comfort and console you, as we wait on the GOOD LORD to do away with suffering and death

April 30, 2014

So sorry for your loss. Please know that God is your comfort and support during this difficult time. My deepest sympathy.

John Tancredi

April 30, 2014

What a fine man. I enjoyed playing golf with him and comparing the Giants to the Jets. I will miss him

Bryan McCann

April 30, 2014

Sam Jennings was a good man, of few words and noble sentiments. He always treated me with respect and dignity, identifying, perhaps, my finer self beneath other trappings. Now that my own children are about the same age I was when I first met Sam, I realize how rare and important that steady, compassionate presence can be, and I am grateful to have experienced it in various moments of my life, from childhood to adulthood.

Andy Miller

April 30, 2014

Sam was a great man in all aspects of his life. He was such a positive and caring influence in both my personal and professional life. We will miss him greatly but I am confident that his spirit will continue to be with us and guide us.

Priscilla Gilman

April 29, 2014

Sam was my beloved father-in-law. From the moment I first met him, I felt deeply and tenderly connected to Sam. Sam was essentially orphaned after his mother died when he was six years old; he was raised in foster homes and by his wonderful older sister alongside many other siblings in a tiny apartment in Ocean City, NJ. What great inner strength and hard work it must have taken to make it through such a sad and turbulent childhood and become a college graduate, a CPA, and eventually the vice president for finance and planning for the Asia-Pacific group of I.B.M. A very successful self-made businessman and always impeccably put together, Sam was nonetheless totally without pretension and had a childlike enthusiasm and sweetness that instantly endeared him to me. In his honesty, integrity, and generosity of spirit, he was a moral lodestar for me. As a steadfast and ardent husband who simply delighted in his wife and expressed his gratitude for her daily, he was a model of what a spouse can be. He was wonderfully self-effacing and funny, a devout Catholic and a liberal (not always an easy combination to achieve!), and was always concerned with helping those less fortunate. He took nothing for granted and was an immensely grateful person who said grace before dinner every night and gave thanks for everything from his children's happiness to a beautiful night sky. The letter he sent me after reading THE ANTI-ROMANTIC CHILD is one I will treasure above almost every other: he read my story with great empathy and sensitivity and understood and appreciated Benj so well. I will never forget when he met Benj (whom he'd already "met" in manuscript form), took Benj's hand in his, and said: "you are a very fine boy, Benjamin," his voice quavering with respect and admiration for a little boy he thought of as a brave hero who'd come so far. I loved and admired, respected and adored Sam more than words can tell. I miss him dreadfully already, but I know that I will carry his compassionate love of me and my boys with me for the rest of my life as a source of sustenance. Moreover, his inimitable combination of solidity and playfulness, his strong work ethic, his dedication to family, his love of animals, and above all his clarity of vision and purpose live on in my dear Chris and in his three other extraordinary children.

Armando Pedroso

April 27, 2014

Sam was a great leader and executive. He will be missed.

Rick Ezequelle

April 27, 2014

Fond memories of intellectual discussions, many good times on the golf course with a good neighbor. We will miss you Sam and send our sympathies to your family, especially our good friend Carlotta who brightens our neighborhood with her wonderful gardening. Love to you all.

Showing 1 - 9 of 9 results