Sam Gardiner obit

In Memory of Sam Gardiner

 

He was not on the list.

The FASD community mourns the loss of an inspiring role model

The National Organisation for FASD was deeply saddened by the death of Sam Gardiner, age 24, in a car accident. Many will know of Sam through the fantastic journey he and his mother Jo took in the BBC’s reality show, Race Across the World that aired in 2020.

Sam brought light, joy and energy

His family have said, “Sam left us far too soon, and while words will never fully capture the light, joy and energy he brought into our lives, we hold on to the memories that made him so special.” Our thoughts are with his parents Jo and Andrew, his brothers William and Charlie, his step mum Justine and all his family and friends at this impossibly difficult time.

A living legacy set up by his family

We are so deeply touched that Sam’s family have set up a Just Giving page for people to donate to National FASD in his honour. Sam embraced his FASD and ADHD as ‘super powers’ according to his dad Andrew. The generosity that has already been shown via these donations is a testament to the way Sam lived his life and how his journey touched so many lives. Indeed here at National FASD we enjoyed the chance to work with Sam and Jo a few years ago on a project. His mum told us at the time that Sam was always ‘lively’ since his adoption and they spent years trying to get him the right supports and schooling until he found his love for landscaping, a passion and skill which we know eventually took him to a beloved part of Scotland.

National FASD is taking some time to consider how best to use these funds, but we promise they will be used as a living testament to Sam to help others with FASD live their lives to the fullest.