In Memory

Sam Gugliotta

Sam Gugliotta, 1942-2025

 

I am very sorry to report the passing of our classmate Sam Gugliotta. Sam's sister-in-law, Dorothy Miscia Gugliotta, sent us the sad news. The following obituary appeared in the online newspaper Marianas Variety from the Mariana Islands in the South Pacific where Sam lived and worked for  nearly 10 years. The articles include a collage of photos from Sam's life.

This obituary by Andrew Roberto can be found at https://www.mvariety.com/news/local/former-nmc-instructor-and-variety-columnist-passes-away/article_ac2c0514-0455-4bb5-9f03-4691212399a8.html  A longer obituary including some of Sam's poems and writings can be found at https://www.mvariety.com/obituaries/samuel-gary-gugliotta/article_2f003bb0-f367-4a9d-b62e-addd3f8112a5.html

 

SAMUEL Gary Gugliotta, a former math instructor at Northern Marianas College and columnist for Variety, passed away in Lewisville, Texas on August 5, 2025.

Gugliotta, a second-generation Italian American, was born in October 1942 in Montclair, New Jersey. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in education (mathematics) from Rutgers University.

According to his former wife, Kui Cheng, Gugliotta spent many years in New York City and the Northeast. He enjoyed reading, drawing, collecting books on philosophy and civilization, playing the harmonica, visiting museums and art shows, and exchanging ideas with “inspirational and aspiring” authors and artists.

He taught at Northern Marianas College in the late 1990s into the 2000s. While on island, he contributed to Variety’s “Gecko Corner,” where “he shared his insights and vast knowledge that he learned throughout his lifetime, more specifically on philosophy, nature, culture, civilization, religion, science and mathematics,” Cheng said.

A virtual service will be held among family and friends at 4 p.m. Central Time on Aug. 17, 2025. A GoFundMe account has been set up to raise funds for the compilation and eventual publishing of Gugliotta’s lifetime work. Cheng is also using the account to advocate against “the system of hospice [that] neglects the will and wishes of a person that is dying and leaves the person defenseless.”

The donation link is: https://gofund.me/41b692bc

 

TRIBUTES TO SAM:

Walter (Gorham) Voight: I knew "Sammy" as a classmate at Hillside JH, if I'm not mistaken. I didn't know how much of an intellectual he would become. God bless you Sam.

Michael Pecherer: Sam and I were born within days of each other.  I knew him quite well and your notice brought back memories of our friendship.  A bittersweet aspect of living longer is that as your old friends shed their mortal coils, you remember them even if you haven't thought about them for years.  Sam was a good fellow with a great sense of humor.   I am both saddened and resigned to his passing.  The human remnants of my youth disappear daily.