Samantha Juray

On October 25th, 2023, Samantha Juray’s life was forever changed when a gunman opened fire at Just-in-Time Recreation. Samantha and her husband Justin (co-owners of Just-in-Time Recreation) were working that Wednesday evening and bore witness to the deaths, injuries and chaos that unfolded in front of her. She saw eight people die, including two employees. Samantha had had come to consider many of these individuals as friends and members of the bowling family.
In the moments that followed dozens of patrons fled seeking safety. Samantha stayed. In the hours that followed, Samantha remained to assist first responders in their investigation. In the days that followed, on the following Monday (October 30th) she returned to her part time job, while dealing with/figuring out everything with the bowling center. In the months that followed she was faced with the impossible decision of walking away from their business and bowling community or taking on the daunting task of starting anew and reopening. The decision to re-open or not was a complex and heavy one. Often businesses that are the scene of a mass violence incident do not reopen.
In addition to remodeling after their business became a crime scene, Samantha was available to support survivors and family members of the incident, all the while being a fellow survivor herself.
It is a testament to Samantha’s strength and resiliency that she was able to rise above her own trauma and be an integral part of moving forward to bring back an important space where members of this community have come to love and appreciate over the years.

• Danielle Parent