Samuel Oscar Roosevelt Stiles

Oh, that Sam. Our beloved feline -- the smartest cat in Seattle -- left this earth Jan. 13, 2009. At 16, he had run out of lives, simply succumbing to old age. He was stoic, calming, wise, noble and loving to the end.

We don't know how he used all of his nine lives, but we know some of the stories. The most spectacular was, as a kitten, surviving a 20-mile car trip at interstate speed (or so goes the legend) by clinging to the under carriage. There was the scrape with the raccoon. Other near misses were more emotional, soul-crushing experiences -- moving to Kent for six months, or having to put up with a mean street mutt named George who was, inexplicably, brought into the house.

Sam survived them all while bringing joy to family, friends, neighbors, and even passers-by. He made cat people out of dog people (or came close in the most hard-core cases). A social being, he loved people and nature. As a kitten, he went to the park to chase crows, delighting strangers. Throughout his life, he visited neighbors, some of whom enjoyed photographing Sam. He reveled in the mist, so the nine months of that in the Northwest didn't interfere with his gallivanting.

At the same time, he deftly fulfilled domicile duties: gently waking us up usually at just the right time; teaching cat survival skills to Baby, who really needed them; patrolling the yard; faithfully greeting us each evening.

Marc, Matthew and Baby sure miss sweet ol' Sam.