Sam Kalunahelu Nainoa III

Sam Kalunahelu Nainoa III, age 57, of Cerritos, California, passed away from health complications on Thursday, June 13, 2024 at his father’s home in Menifee, California. Sam was born at Los Angeles Harbor Hospital on April 28th, 1967 to Sam and Gloria Nainoa. His younger sister, Felicia, joined the family five years later.

They grew up in Cerritos, California, where he was an active young boy with a love for football, skateboarding and riding BMX bikes. He attended Frank C. Leal Elementary and then the renowned Gretchen Whitney High School where he was challenged with a rigorous curriculum, but also excelled in soccer, cross country and track and field. He played the clarinet in the marching band and orchestra, was a member of the student council, and was also an avid surfer. But his love for all genres of music, from Rock to Punk to New Wave to Ska to Reggae, House to Hawaiian to Electronica to Indie Pop and much more, was what truly defined him as the passionate, layered human being he was.

After graduating from high school in 1985, Sam attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cuesta College, and San Diego State University, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology. He pursued several different career paths, but his longest and most significant role was in the film and television industry working in the production department as one of the assistant directors. His credits include more than 60 TV shows and films. He spent his life traveling, mostly throughout the United States, and his passion for both the ocean and the mountains was known by all. He spent years snowboarding in Park City, Utah and also lived in Hawaii, Boston, Northern California, and Wyoming. Sam was most known for his passion for life. He was a foodie, a writer, a sports enthusiast, particularly for the World Cup and Tour de France, and his intelligence was often on display in deep conversations about art, music, writing, culture, politics, social issues, history, science, spirituality, and the meaning of life. He loved down to his core and was loved in return.

Although he was a free spirit, his heart and home were always with his family, whom loved him endlessly. He was particularly close with his niece and nephew who he adored. Sam is survived by his father, Sam Nainoa, his sister and brother-in-law, Felicia and Barry Ptolemy, his niece and nephew, Jacob Kylan Makua and Lauren Kalei Bloom Ptolemy (to whom he gave both their middle names), his grandfather, Russell Malone and dozens of aunts, uncles, and cousins, who shaped his life. He will join one of his closest friends, Mike Maki, his paternal grandparents, Sam and Elvira Nainoa, his maternal grandmother, Juanita Malone, many other family members and friends and most importantly, his beloved mother, Gloria Nainoa, in eternal rest.