Samantha Lynn Castronovo

Samantha Lynn Castronovo, age 42, passed away suddenly on November 23, 2021. She is survived by her parents, Charles and Ingrid Castronovo, her sister, Christina Castronovo Beliveau, her brother-in-law Andrew Austin Beliveau, and her nephew, Andrew Austin Beliveau Jr.

Samantha was brilliant, accomplished, and known for her joyful, booming laughter. She had a witty and irreverent sense of humor. She was extremely well read, fluent in Spanish, very politically engaged, and passionate about social justice and fighting for the underdog. She wanted to make the world a better place.

Samantha grew up in Timonium, Maryland, and graduated from Dulaney High School in 1997. It was during the summer before her senior year when her family hosted an exchange student from Spain that she began a lifelong love of all things Spanish. She attended Johns Hopkins University, and during that time she studied abroad in Spain and decided to become a lawyer.

She graduated from Hopkins in 2001 with a dual major in International Relations and Spanish. She went on to attend the Catholic University School of Law. She passed the bar exams in both Maryland and Florida on her first attempt. After law school, she moved to Miami to work for the National Labor Relations Board. During her time in Florida she also worked in the nonprofit sector and served on the board of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.

In 2012, she moved back to Baltimore to be near her family. Samantha was always thoughtful and conscientious about everything regarding her family. She became an auntie for the first time on July 22, 2021, when her sister gave birth to her nephew Austin. She was delighted to be an aunt and spent a lot of happy time with him in the four short months they had together.

Samantha loved animals. Her pride and joy was her precious rescue dog, Timmy. She also doted on her sister’s many dogs over the years and was legendary for giving them the funniest nicknames. She wrote very funny messages to her sister on their behalf when she dog-sat for her.

Samantha was known among her friends as the life of the party. As one friend said, “To know Samantha was to hear her laughter three rooms away.” She was unapologetically herself: friendly, personable, a welcoming presence, and full of life. She had an adventurous spirit and loved to travel. She enjoyed unusual activities like going to a cat circus with her friend Meghan. Each year on her birthday (which fell around Halloween), she cajoled her family into silly activities that made her happy including going to a murder mystery dinner in costume, going to Medieval Times, and dressing up and playing Clue.

Her lifelong best friend described her as a “warrior”. Despite any challenges she faced in life she forged ahead with resolve to tackle them, to continue to learn and grow, and to take new risks. She was brave and fiercely determined. Before she passed away, she had just gotten certified to scuba dive and had booked a trip to the Galapagos Islands next year. She thoroughly enjoyed going to art exhibitions, plays and performances.

The family welcomes everyone to join them at her Memorial Service on Saturday December 11th, beginning promptly at 1pm at the Lemmon Funeral Home. Location: 10 W. Padonia Road, Timonium, MD 21093. A memorial gathering will follow at 2pm with light refreshments.

In lieu of flowers, donations to honor Samantha’s life may be made to the Small Miracles Rescue in Ellicott City which is where she got Timmy (https://www.smallmiraclesrescue.org/donate.shtml), or BARCS Animal Rescue, where she volunteered in the past (https://www.barcs.org).

The family requests that all attending the Memorial Service wear face coverings.