June 8, 2011: Victor Michael Samra, Jr., of Bronxville, New York, and Kiawah Island, South Carolina, died at his New York home on Monday evening, May 23. He was 69 years old.

Mr. Samra was born on December 2, 1941, in Brooklyn, New York, to Victor Michael and Temam Kotite Samra. He graduated from Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn in 1959, and he received a degree in business from American University in Washington, D.C., in 1963.

In 1964 Mr. Samra began a career in business as a trader at the New York brokerage firm Asiel & Co.; in 1994 he retired from Wall Street after serving as a managing director of Lehman Brothers. He then pursued a new venture as the chief operating officer of First Marblehead, Inc., a student loan firm. He later became a managing member of Andover Brokerage in Garden City, New York. He retired from business in 2005.

Serving his community was an important part of Victor's life. For over 34 years he was on the board of Poly Prep Country Day School, where he also held the position of chairman, and for 18 years he was a dedicated member of the board of Lawrence Hospital Center. In Charleston, South Carolina, he served on the board of the South Carolina Aquarium.

Victor Samra will be remembered as a modest and generous person who loved life and lived it fully. His greatest pleasure was spending time with his family and with friends, both old and new. He enjoyed exploring the world, always looking forward to new adventures, and in recent years he had become an inveterate traveler.

Funeral services were held on Friday, May 27, at St. Mary's Antiochian Orthodox Church of Brooklyn, New York, a church his father was instrumental in having built in Bay Ridge.

Mr. Samra was married to Alexandra Sherrer on October 4, 1969, and he is survived by his beloved wife and their two children, Victor III and Christina, their respective spouses, Laurie Maher-Samra and James Karper, Jr., and his adoring grandson, Owen Samra.

The Samra family has requested that memorial donations be made to the Samra Scholarship Fund at Poly Prep Country Day School, 9216 Seventh Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11228; Lawrence Hospital Center, Bronxville, NY 10708; or a favorite charity.