Sam Sultana

August 06 , 1935 - January 27 , 2026

Henry Ford Hospice

Sam Sultana

August 06 , 1935 - January 27 , 2026

VISITATIONS:

Sunday, February 1, 2026

2:00PM ~ 8:00PM
Michigan Memorial Funeral Home

SERVICES:

Monday, February 2, 2026

Instate: 10:30AM
Mass: 11:00AM
St. Barbara Catholic Church

13534 Colson St.

Dearborn, MI 48126

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Obituary

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Sam Sultana, a beloved husband, father, grandfather (Nannu), great-grandfather (Buznannu), brother, and friend.

Sam was the devoted husband of 42 years to his adoring wife, Elizabeth Sultana (nee Norton), a loving father to Michael E. Sultana (Annette), Daniel J. Sultana (Marti), and Christopher N. Sultana (Travis), grandfather to Paige (Skyler), McKenzie, Edward, Mason (Rachel), and Trevor (Amanda); and a proud great-grandfather to Lillian, Calliope, Boston, Lela and Natalee.

Sam lived life as a man of faith, truth, strength, and unwavering love. He dedicated his life to his wife, his beloved family, and his friends. He will be deeply missed by all who were fortunate to know and love him.

Rest in Paradise, our most beautiful and treasured friend. Your legend endures in the legacy we carry forward, and your memory lives forever in our hearts.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Henry Ford Hospice.

Condolences

I am so sorry to hear about Sam's passing. He was such a lively character. I always enjoyed our conversations at the Maltese Club and our ongoing battle about who made the best Qaqoċċ Mimli. All my love to Elizabeth and Sam's family. Lisa Buttigieg-LiGreci
With heavy hearts, we say goodbye to our beloved Uncle Sam Sultana. Your warm smile shall always be remembered. You will be deeply missed. Rest in peace. Tabone Family
I will miss you Uncle Sammy. I know we loved to dance together. Now you get to dance with Jesus 💕 VICKYHARDEN
Dearest Liz, we were so blessed to have spent some time with you and Sam. We will always cherish Sam’s talks, laughter and most of all his sense of humor. He was a great man full of love and compassion. Sam lived life to the fullest and will be missed by so many. We send our prayers and hugs from Florida to you and your family. Joe & Tammy Sultana
Dear Elizabeth, Please accept our sympathy at this sad time. We were shocked to hear that you lost your beloved Sam. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Due to Joe's illness we are sorry that we will not be able to attends Sam's funeral. With deepest sympathy, Joe and Irene Joe and Irene Buhagiar
Sam Sultana, you are a true friend, always there for a good chat. Rest in Peace. (Strieh fis Sliem) To your beautiful wife Liz and Family, God be with you for this time of sorrow. Manuel Calleja LeLi & Rose Calleja (Windsor Canada)
Liz I can't tell you how sad I feel for you. Sam was full of life. My brother Joe was your best man at your wedding. I can almost see those two stirring up things like two schoolboys right now. Rena Xuereb
Dear Liz, Mike, Annette, Danny, Marty, Chris, Travis, grandchildren, family and friends, So sorry for your loss, the world has dimmed with the loss of Sam. His light was bright, we all should have wore shades. A favorite couple Sam and Liz, who compliments each other. Sam was a great raconteur, man of many talents, his storytelling, his ingenuity, his gardening, his cooking, and dancing, his love of God, family and friends and Malta. He had the joi de vivre. He had a couple of classic stories, when he enlisted in the army, a sergeant taking the intake information would say your name and several of the Latinas would say Jesus Gomez… next Jesus Hernandez…. And the Latinas pronounced J as an H so it sounds like “Hesus!” the sergeant says next… Hesus Humanez. He said if I hear one more Jesus…. Sams up next and the sergeant says your name and he says “Savior Sultana!” The other story was he was in the service with Elvis Presley in Germany… I miss you already, you had good yuks, I miss you my brother, my friend. Love Rosemonda Sullivan and DeMoisey Family Rosemonda Sullivan
To know him was to love him. I remember so many times going to visit and he would always try to feed us. His stories were funny and fascinating and he will live in our hearts forever. RIP sweet Sam. Kelli and Albert Sanchez
Many have requested the Eulogy. Salvatore, Francesco, Georgio, Sultana, the Birth Name of the Man we are here to honor today. He was born to Guesieppi and Georgina, on August 6, 1935 in Victoria Gozo, the smaller, countryside island of Malta. He was called and known as Savior as a child in his homeland. Savior had many dreams and aspirations as a child, one of those was coming to America. Another was to work at Ford Motor Co. On Sept 9, 1951 His dream started to become reality. At the tender age of 16, he shared his last goodbye with his Nunna. Later that day his Father accompanied Savior to the Grand Harbor of Malta where he watched his son board the Nea Hellas to embark on a 23 day journey at sea, by himself, to America! And that's just the beginning of the legendary story of Savior! Shortly after arriving in America he decided to legally change his name to Sam, Yup just Sam, that’s it! He found that people in America thought the name Savior was a little different and sometimes people would make fun and jokes about his name! So it’s Sam I am. Savior.. Oh I mean Sam did get that job at Ford Motor Co. Sam was very honored and excited to work at Ford’s. He retired after a 42 year career. Sam was proud to be a member of the UAW! Sam never stopped going to union meetings even long after he had retired! “Solidarity Forever”. He always preferred the afternoon shift because getting up real early was never his thing and there was less BS and bosses on the off shift! After a few years at Ford, Sam was drafted into the US Army. He served 2 years in Germany beginning in 1959. You may have heard that he served with a legend aka: Elvis Presley! Yes it is true, they did serve together. Sam had always said he has photos of Elvis that he had taken, and that would not surprise me one bit. Although I have looked for years through his archive of photos and slides, it appears that Elvis had left the building. I used to say to Dad “could you imagine what those photos would be worth ?” Yeah, Danny you got to find them! Well, maybe someday. I was formally introduced to Sam on Feb 25,1964 and from that day I changed his name to Dad. It took me a few months or so to figure out who this guy was. But after a while it all started coming together. I took notice of his love for me,his Family, Cars, Music, dancing, taking photos and drawing.One drawing that stood out to me was an amazingly detailed 1959 Chevy, written below it was Pee Wee’s Jalopy. I didn’t know who Pee Wee was but that car sure was sweet. I remember Dad tinkering out in the garage making windmills out of tin cans or helping me make a Kite. One year I took first place for best Kite design at the city of Dearborn Kite contest. Thanks for the help Dad. He was also quite masterful and creative with Cardboard. He created a manger out of cardboard that we still place under our Christmas tree every year. He loved to cook and he was great at it. I’d find him in our kitchen downstairs when I got home from school making food. I loved walking down the stairs hearing Herb Albert & the Tijuanna Brass blaring on his Grundig turn table, while he prepared his lunch for work. Dad and I had a little routine. I’d turn on the TV to watch the Banana Splits, followed by the Little Rascals while Dad finished making his lunch. Then it was Three Stooges time! Dad would hurry to the couch, find his place and I’d lay across his lap and get my back scratched while he giggled uncontrollably at the Stooges. I’ll never forget those back scratches because Dad had a peculiarly long pinky finger nail and wow, it felt so good. Hearing Dads laughter and feeling his belly bouncing me off his lap was more fun and honestly funnier than the Three Stooges! When the Three Stooges ended he’d give me a big ole hug and a kiss and off to work he’d go. See ya tomorrow Dad. As I got older I would sometimes wonder where I stood with Daddio, not that he meant to send the wrong message, it was just the way he delivered it. If I made a child's mistake my dad would say to me, “You did that on purpose, Did You ? Ummm I wasn't sure if he was asking me or telling me, so I just nodded my head. Other times he would say “Come, We go!” hmmm yeah I’m not sure if we’re coming or going but I was always by his side in either direction! If you’ve known Dad any length of time, you at some point may have wondered where you stood. Well I can tell you, His delivery may have been a bit brash and rough around the edges but his intent was pure and his heart, soft as 24 karat Gold. Dad has always rooted for the under dog, or those that needed help in some way. He would do whatever he could to help make it a more lovely day for you. In his last few days on earth with us he was asked by Calliope, his 8 year old Great granddaughter. Nunnu, she said, “how do you get to be 90 years old?” With his index finger gently pointing toward her, He said, ‘You Be Nice to people, You Help People, and if somebody makes fun of you, don't worry just keep going!’ Well, Dad practiced what preached! He was always on the Go to the next adventure! Dad traveled often and made friends around the world, just as easily as he did in his own front yard. He truly cherished those friendships! Just pause for a moment and think how you impacted his life, and then realize just how important you were to him, as he was to you. That's a testament to why you are here today. It truly is an honor that you are here with us to give us strength and share your love and support. For that, We thank you. The stories and memories could go on forever, but I truly need to wrap it up and thank people on behalf of My Father and those of us that loved him for so many years. To all his life long Buddies at the Maltese Club that gather on Wednesdays, to just hang out, drink coffee and eat pastizzi’s. I want you to know He enjoyed your fellowship and truly Loved each and everyone of you, Even at times when the debates were loud and Harsh. I would join them on occasion. I called it The Maltese Yelling Match. It’s awesome! Again,Thank you for being his Buddy! To family members and friends who brought food, called or visited, and to those that helped with his Dad’s care. The list is long, but please know that it did not go unnoticed. Thank you. Thanks to the health care providers, Hospice nurses and Doctors, there are many to thank but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one special person, Dr. Arman. He certainly added 7 to 8 years of time, to enjoy Sam’s presence in our lives. Thank you Dr. Arman. Let us not forget the most wonderful human being that has been by Sam's side, hand in hand for well over 42 years. His Queen, Elizabeth! She is true royalty to my Dad and our Family. She is the strongest of warriors. She is a selfless care giver, a deeply loving Mother, and a wonderful story teller. She has a beautiful gentle soul with deep kindness and an unwavering fierce inner strength. My Father was blessed that SHE picked him. No words could ever be enough to Thank you for being the most important part of Dad’s Journey! For that, I thank you with all my heart! Dad lived a legendary Life! He enjoyed Celebrations and Events, Big or small, from weddings to concerts, to a local band at a club! Just hand him a Tambourine or a handkerchief and he’d dance all night. He never wanted the party to end and that really explains the way he lived his life. Savior, I mean Sam, Oh wait that’s Pee Wee, he didn’t want the party to end, but that Jalopy that he drove around the world in finally broke down. From all of us, Thanks for taking that journey! So The True Legend, Salvatore, Francesco, Georgio, Sultana has left the building, but he leaves his legacy and it will live within us all forever. Dan Sultana