Emily Reynolds

Emily "Sami" Reynolds passed away unexpectedly on September 5, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV. Sami was born on New Year’s Day 1998 at the Army hospital in Heidelberg, Germany.  She spent her earliest years in Burnsville, MN, and in 1st grade moved to Northfield, MN. She graduated from Northfield High School in 2016. Sami moved to Lakeville in 2016, and then to Las Vegas, NV in 2020.

Sami is known to those who love her as both Emily and Sami. She will be remembered for her endless love of animals.  She was creative and witty, able to keep up in any match of puns with her father and his twin brother, Dan.  She created nicknames for everyone and unique voices for her pets. Everywhere she went as a child, rules had to be written that nobody had even considered, as her combination of smart, funny, and stubborn would not allow her to be contained.  Fun and laughter were always around Sam, and she stole the hearts of all who recognized her broke-the-mold spirit.  She loved to travel and had numerous adventures seeing the world.  She was generous with affection, time, and gifts.  Sami did not care to fit in.  If you were easily embarrassed, she wasn’t the person you wanted to hang out with. There is nothing she wouldn't do to help friends and strangers alike.

Her life cannot be measured by mainstream accomplishments, as she was born for other things.  She faced health struggles that started in preschool with her eyes, and she had countless surgeries and hospitalizations in her life.  Like many artists, her mind was both a blessing and a prison.  She journeyed with special friends who understood - and lost too many to the perils of mental illness along the way. She spent time as an urban Christian missionary in St. Paul, tending to the homeless and those in need.  She collected glass, gems and rocks, antiques, oddities, and the most unusual pets only she could love.

She is survived by her parents Doug and Pam Reynolds;  brother, Hunter Reynolds; chosen sister Nicole Manderfeld; adopted other-mother, Sara Szabo; grandparents Gary & Cindy Johnson, Jean Kehren, and Yovette Bronson; great-grandma Delores Schmidt; and so many beloved aunts, uncles, and cousins.  She is preceded in death by her grandpas Bill Reynolds, Karl Kehren, and Carson Bronson; uncle, Tommy Reynolds; and aunts, Terri Hargis and Vanessa Kehren.

Sami’s Celebration of Life will be held at Hosanna Church, 9600 163rd St W in Lakeville, MN  on September 16, 2022. Gathering time at 12 pm, service at 1 pm, refreshments to follow.  Please come as you are, which is the way she loved everyone she met.