The Life And Legacy
of Samuel Gilbert
The Sam Gilbert Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization devoted to supporting education in ranching and agribusiness and the Western lifestyle. The foundation honors the life and legacy of Samuel Jefferson Hawthorne Gilbert who lost his life in December 2019 at the age of 20 in a tragic accident. Sam was a graduate of the Episcopal School (Wichita Falls, Texas) and Keller High School (Keller, Texas) where he played baseball and wrestled. He was a sophomore at Texas A&M University – Kingsville (Kingsville, Texas) studying Agribusiness and Ranch
Management. He was a hunting guide on the legendary King Ranch.
During high school, Sam was a Technician at Discount Tire and in college a hunting guide at the King Ranch. Sam also volunteered at the Humane Society and was seldom seen without his beloved Chocolate Labrador Retriever Buck. Sam truly had a heart as big as Texas, touched so many lives in his short time, was deeply devoted to helping others, spreading joy and kindness. In the words of one of Sam’s favorite country artists Cody Johnson, Sam had a “smile as wide as the Rio Grande.” Sam’s friends and family established this foundation to continue his legacy of helping others, which lives on in his foundation.
Sam’s foundation will establish a scholarship in Sam’s name at Texas A&M – Kingsville in Agribusiness and Ranch Management, Sam’s major. Continue his support for organizations such as Ducks Unlimited, Dallas Safari Club and the Humane Society and provide food to homeless shelters, particularly those that have a large veteran population such as Bridgeport, Texas. The foundation will also create a fellowship for one young male and one female hunter to hunt the Eastern Cape and Karoo in South Africa and learn about conservation and anti-poaching efforts there. Sam had a profound love for the Eastern Cape and planned to move there after college to earn his professional hunting license. That love inspired the foundation’s logo of the Baobab Tree, the “Tree of Life,” along with the silhouette of the King Ranch deer from a photo Sam took in November 2019.
Southlake, TX 76092
Chris L Gilbert, Esq., Chair
Piper G Gilbert, Co-Chair
John Carter Sands, Executive Director
Mikayla McClasky, Executive Director
Paul Cantrell, Director
Chris Cantrell, Director
J.P. Kleinhans
Aidan Shirley
Luther Wright, Jr., Esq.