Obituary: Jeannine Samuels

June 4, 1933 – September 24, 2025 
Jeannine Samuels, of New Orleans, Vail and Gulf Breeze, FL, passed away peacefully on September 24th at the age of 92. She was able to be with her children, grandchildren and great grandson-to-be over a beautiful week before her passing.

On June 4, 1933, Jeannine was born in New Orleans. Her roots were in the Crescent City; but she had family ties out west. Frequent train rides to visit her family in Denver over many summers had her yearning for the mountains. This lead to her attending college at the University of Colorado. Jeannine spent as many weekends as she could learning how to ski. And that’s how her love affair with Vail began.

Jeannine met her husband, Dr. Bernard Samuels, while living in New Orleans. They wed shortly thereafter and were together for the next 68 years, until Bernard’s passing on April 6, 2023.

Bernard was a New Orleans boy who had never seen snow. But Jeannine really wanted to get back to the mountains. She finally convinced him to take some time off from his busy solo practice to take a ski trip with her to Aspen (we eventually forgave her for her choice in resorts!). From the moment Bernard saw the beauty of Colorado, he understood Jeannine’s love for the mountains and was hooked. Their next ski trip was to this new European-themed village called Vail, and the rest is history. They have since skied and lived in Vail part-time together since the mid 1960’s, and they never looked back.

After attending CU, and later Newcomb/Tulane University, Jeannine spent her younger years teaching math in New Orleans. Later, she sold real estate, until she and Bernard put everything into developing their Medical Practice, with Jeannine running the show for the next 30 years. Even with such a busy schedule, she was always there for her children. Whether being a Brownie and Cub Scout den mother, taking her kids to the beach in Florida or backpacking trips out West, there was never a moment her children were not foremost in her mind. Jeannine never stopped moving. Always sailing, both cruising and racing, with Bernard on the Gulf Coast, tending her gardens, playing tennis with the girls, or traveling to Europe and beyond, Jeannine had a full and wonderful life. We will miss her loving, generous and adventurous spirit.

In the Summer of 2026, there will be a private Memorial where her children, grandchildren and great grandchild will gather and remember the great times in Vail with Mom and Dad, where Jeannine and Bernard have an engraved boulder in the Vail Memorial Park in East Vail.