Jacksonville legend Sam Mousa passes away at 72

One of the most meaningful figures in Jacksonville history died suddenly on Wednesday night, leaving a void in the physical world, but a giant legacy in his wake.

Sam Mousa, who served during five mayoral administrations and most recently as the Chief Administrative Officer during Lenny Curry’s tenure, passed away at 72 years of age at Mayo Clinic.

His heart gave out ahead of a planned surgery, but as those who knew him can attest, Mousa spent decades giving his heart to the city of Jacksonville in many key roles, shaping projects and public works like few others did in the history of the consolidated government over the course of nearly 50 years between the public and private sectors.

Mousa’s own father passed away from a heart attack decades ago. At five years old, he had to reckon with the awful reality of that death at the kitchen table in their modest home in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Mousa’s parents, immigrants from Ramallah, Palestine, were merchants in a way that might not be easily understood in this era.

They loaded up a truck with denim and dry goods, taking it from one remote farm town to the next, sending money back home for the family before they were able to buy that little Texas store and settle down.

By the time Sam Mousa was 18, his widowed mother made the decision to come to Jacksonville after he graduated high school, where family was, and where he was able to put down roots as one of many in one of the most vibrant communities of Middle Eastern immigrants anywhere in the country, one whose impact has been pronounced in local history and remains so to this day.

A graduate of what was Florida Junior College decades ago, then of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Mousa would go on to rise through the ranks in City Hall over the years, involved in some of the most momentous and meaningful projects and initiatives in city history in roles ranging from city engineer and public works director to Chief Administrative Officer.

From the Better Jacksonville Plan and the Duval County Courthouse that came out of the John Delaney administration’s work to his tenure under Curry as what that former mayor called “the most skilled administrator” ever in the city, and his significant private sector work for companies like J.B. Coxwell, JBC Planning and Engineering and Mousa Consulting Group, it’s no exaggeration to say that Sam Mousa’s imprint on the City was as meaningful and substantial as that of any elected official, or even group thereof.

Mousa is survived by his wife of 47 years, Sandy, as well as three children and (spouses): Nick (Kara); Amanda (Phillip), and Robert (Cassie).

His pride and joy was his six grandchildren: Buddy, Joseph, Victor, Samantha, Lilia, and Frank.

Funeral services will be announced in the coming days, as the family and a city come together to recognize a life of public service, lived to the fullest in a place that gave him a home and shaped him and that he shaped in kind.