Dr. Eldon M. Samuel

Dr. Eldon M. Samuel, 71, of Snellville, GA and Kewanee, IL, passed away Friday, May 9, 2025, at his home in Kewanee. Dr. Samuel was born August 17, 1953, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Caribbean, the son of George and Pearl Samuel. Dr. Samuel earned his Bachelor of Science at the University of Massachusetts and later obtained his Doctor of Medicine at St. George’s University School of Medicine, Grenada.  Dr. Samuel married Maria L. John on November 2023, in Snellville, GA; she survives.

Dr. Samuel is also survived by six children, Deslene (Joseph) Dowdy, MA, Valincia (Clyde) Burke, Snellville, GA, Jarvon (Patricia) Corbett, MA, Kazwell Jeffers, MA, Ron (Darci) Samuel, MI and Donel (Seth) Kelly, Okinawa, Japan; eleven grandchildren, AnaiYah Dowdy, Jayden and Zachary Burke, Tyler, Tatiana and Tamera Corbett, Dominik and Vincent Samuel,  Theo, Zion and Quinn Kelly; four brothers, Bernard, Rawle, Kenny and Desmond Samuel, many nieces and nephews and a host of other family and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, and two brothers, Ashley and Derick Samuel.

Dr. Samuel dedicated his life to the practice of medicine. For over 20 years, he served as an M.D. in the Emergency Department at OSF Saint Luke Medical Center in Kewanee, Illinois. He was deeply honored to care for the Kewanee community—both within the hospital walls and beyond. At his heart, Dr. Samuel was a devoted father and grandfather who found great joy in a good book and in time spent with his family. His love of reading lives on through his grandchildren, a legacy that will continue to inspire.

Visitation will be on Saturday, May 24, 2025, from 10:30 am -12 pm followed by a Celebration of Life Service at Golnick-Schueneman Funeral Home in Kewanee, IL. Family and friends will gather again on Saturday, May 31, 2025, at Gregory B Levett & Sons in Lawrenceville, GA at 10:30 am for a procession to his final resting place at East Shadowlawn Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Lawrenceville, GA. Please leave an online condolence for Dr. Samuel’s family at www.golnickschuenemanfh.com.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory to Ujumbe Wa Upendo Ministries at https://giv.li/eus1yo will be greatly appreciated. 

Ujumbe Wa Upendo Ministries shares God’s message of love. We host and staff medical camps that provide medical care that includes diagnoses, lab work and medication at no cost to the recipients in underserved villages in Uganda https://ujumbewaupendo.org/.

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