- Date Of Birth: September 11, 1927
- Date Of Death: February 25, 2022
- State: Massachusetts
Samuel C. Hanna Ph.D., Boston University Professor Emeritus, passed away peacefully at his home in West Roxbury on February 25, 2022. He was 94 years old.
Sam, father of three, grandfather of seven, was born September 11, 1927, in Boston, MA to Abdullah “Charlie” and Anjoul Abraham Hanna. On October 12, 1952, he married the love of his life, Joan Samaha, and they raised three sons, Michael, John, and Richard.
Sam was a proud alum of Boston Latin School (Class of 1944) and received his undergraduate degree from MIT in 1948.
Sam was a hardworking and entrepreneurial man. He founded the first computer center at the University of Pittsburgh in the late 1950s. While teaching at BU, Sam designed and oversaw the construction of a mixed residential and commercial apartment building in West Roxbury, which he and Joan managed and where he lived with his family until his passing. He started a consulting practice, Compunetics, in the late 60s. He undertook a variety of tasks for Dr. John Silber, long time president at BU. He designed and oversaw the conversion of a racquet ball club to a commercial office building in Brookline, MA. He continued independent consulting throughout the 80s to help support his family.
Sam had a gift for math, and this made him a natural game player. At a young age, he made the “mistake” of beating his father at checkers in a public game.
Most importantly, Sam was passionate about teaching. He was a lifelong teacher, who spent hours planning his lectures and redoing his notes – always looking for the perfect presentation. He particularly loved teaching statistics because it allowed him to bring together his love of games with the topic he knew so well. He helped students get over their fear of the subject by using examples from either sports (including sports gambling) or casino games that they could relate to. Sam was a finalist for the prestigious Metcalf Award at Boston University, which is given to the best teacher across the entire university.
Sam is survived by his loving wife, Joan Samaha Hanna, his sons Michael Hanna and his wife Sada of West Roxbury, John Hanna and his wife Roseann of Norwell, Richard Hanna and his wife Lynne “Sam” of Belmont, his grandchildren Olivia, Marlaine, Emily, John Joseph, Elizabeth, Benjamin and Alexander, and many nieces and nephews. Sam joins his family in life eternal, dear brother of the late John Hanna and his wife Mary, Nicholas Abraham and his wife Ida, Jeannette Ganame and her husband Joseph, Michael Abraham, Julia LaMorte and her husband Michael, Mary Hadge and her husband Donald, and Frederick Hanna and his wife Adele.
