Marie Sampsidis, 86, Russian princess whose Troubetzkoy family lineage is traced back to the 13th century
Verity
BY ANASTASIA ECONOMIDES
March 10, 2008
http://www.newsday.com/news/obituaries/ny-lisamp095608297mar10,0,3681578.story
Marie Sampsidis, 86, a foreign language teacher, died in her home in
Glen Head on Tuesday. She suffered from Alzheimer's disease.
She was born Princess Marie Troubetzkoy in 1922, in Paris. The
Troubetzkoy family lineage is traced back to the 13th century. Like many
other "White Russians" who opposed the Bolshevik Revolution, her family
was forced into exile. Sampsidis grew up in Russian-émigré Paris, where
she was exposed to Russian culture by intellectuals and artists who were
determined to preserve their heritage and language. One of them was the
famous Russian ballerina, Olga Preobrazhenskaya, whom she studied under
at the age of 10.
During World War II, Sampsidis was a member of the French resistance,
working as a bicycle messenger who traveled through German-occupied
zones to different parts of France. She was later awarded a medal of
merit by the French military. She completed her studies at the Sorbonne
in 1946 and received a master of arts in the teaching of French language
and literature. She was also a part of the first group of women who
studied at the St. Sergius Theological Seminary in Paris.
In 1951, she came to the United States and married Oleg Sampsidis, who
had grown up in the White Russian émigré communities of Berlin and
Paris, and they raised their family in Glen Head. From 1959, Sampsidis
taught Russian and Advanced Placement French at Friends Academy in
Locust Valley and became head of the foreign language department. She
ran the French and Russian clubs and took her students on trips to both
countries.
She also taught briefly at the Buckley Country Day School in North Hills
after retiring from Friends Academy.
In addition to her love for education, Sampsidis had a lifelong passion
for photography. She was also active in many Russian-American civic
organizations, such as the American-Russian Aid Association-Otrada and
St. Seraphim Russian Orthodox Church in Sea Cliff.
Sampsidis is survived by her husband of 56 years; her son, Nicholas
Sampsidis, of Cannes, France; her daughter, Maria Slobodskoy, of Glen
Head; and five grandchildren. A funeral was held Saturday at St.
Seraphim, and burial took place at the Russian-Orthodox cemetery
Novodiveyeva in Spring Valley.
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