TOWN OF NEWBURGH – Hundreds of members of the Newburgh community came to pay their respects during a funeral service held for Samuel Stubbs Jr., 67, on Tuesday evening at the Mount Carmel Church of Christ.
Stubbs was shot to death while playing cards with friends on August 13 outside a laundromat in the City Newburgh. The two other men were wounded. Stubbs’ death was the fourth homicide in Newburgh this year.
Friends gather outside the funeral home, and celebrate Stubbs’ life, inside
Three of Stubbs’ grandchildren and his niece, who spoke at the service, all shared fond words of his life and exploits.
Stubbs was credited with being a sharp dresser, a man of moral fortitude and someone who was always willing to speak his mind for the benefit of others, even when it sometimes would embarrass them.
Stubbs was known and loved by his entire community, said Omari Shakur, community activist and mayoral hopeful for the City of Newburgh.
“He was a pillar of the community; he’s going to be truly missed and we just want to say to the family that we give our condolences and we’re going to be there with them,” said Shakur.
Just hours after his funeral service, there were police reports of a shooting at South and Liberty streets with a victim taken to the hospital.
Shakur, who knew Stubbs for over 40 years, said that something needs to be done about the violence but, no one is sure that there is one specific cure to the problem.
“Right now, I’m just at a loss for words,” Shakur said. “I mean, there’s no recipe; there’s nothing I can sit here and say that, ‘this is going to end it’, but, one of the things, like I said, we can start paying more attention to our children, to our community, our loved ones and we just need more love in the community.”
Stubbs is survived by his wife, grandchildren and many relatives from North Carolina and the New York area.
