Journalist Sandra “Sam” L. Combs, a former Oakland Press staff writer, died on Oct. 23 in Jonesboro, Arkansas. She was 69. The Orlando, Fla., native earned multiple degrees and taught at several universities before retiring in April from Arkansas State University.
The National Association of Black Journalists announced her death on Oct. 24, calling her a dedicated storyteller, educator and mentor, who embodied the spirit of excellence, service and community. She was an NABJ Region III Achiever recipient.
She worked at The Oakland Press from 1978 to 1997 and was a former Rochester Hills resident.
Former Oakland Press colleague Joe Grimm, whose career included writing and then recruiting for the Detroit Free Press recalled working with her in Pontiac during their early-journalism days. He now teaches journalism at Michigan State University.
“I admired her spirit, fierce in so many good ways,” he wrote after reading the Detroit SPJ’s Facebook post about her death. “She was funny and was over to our house several times. She loved a good Christmas tree. One of her toughest moments at The OP was writing about a church shooting, yes, way back then, that happened in her church while she was there.”
He called her “one of the many patient people” who taught him how to be a newsroom recruiter, adding, “I nearly worked with her a third time when I still had more to learn. Our tenures at Michigan State abutted but did not overlap.”
Her writing also appeared in The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News from 1997 to 2008. She was a past president of the Detroit Chapter of Society of Professional Journalists.
Eileen Harned wrote on the Detroit SPJ Facebook page that she knew Combs through SPJ. The two women remained in touch after Combs left Michigan.
“I will truly miss her and join all those who do likewise. She truly was a rare journalist!” Harned wrote.
She graduated from University of Florida in 1976 and went on to write for the Fort Myers News-Press, Gainesville Sun and Independent Florida Alligator.
She earned a master’s degree in journalism at Michigan State University in 1996.
Her teaching career included three years at Ohio State University’s 10-week Midwest Newspaper Workshop for Minorities. She was a journalism instructor at MSU from 2003 to 2008 and director of multicultural affairs for MSU’s school of communication arts and sciences from 2004 to 2006.
She taught more than a dozen journalism courses at Wayne State University from 1997 to 2003 and was director of WSU’s Journalism Institute for Minorities.
Combs started as an ASU associate professor in 2008 and was a journalism professor and advisor for the student newspaper, The Herald, for a decade. She was co-advisor for the Arkansas State Association of Black Journalists chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.
She was a devout Christian but quick to caution her fellow Christians not to overreach when someone says “Happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” She said “Happy holidays” recognized the 14 different religious holidays that occur between Thanksgiving and the end of each year. Her birthday was Dec. 1, 1955.
Visitation will be 5-6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31, at Woodard Funeral Services, followed by the funeral at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, at First Baptist Church, both in Jonesboro.
Arkansas State University will darken the tower of the Dean B. Ellis Library Friday evening in tribute to Combs for her contributions to the university and higher education.