Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr. entered the world on September 13, 1942, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His life story extends way beyond his connection to Hollywood star Keanu Reeves. Born in Hawaii, Samuel’s experience led him to different parts of the world. He chose to study geology at American University in Beirut, Lebanon in the early 1960s. His diverse background created a mixture of Portuguese-American, Chinese, Irish, and English heritage.
Life took an interesting turn in Lebanon. The 22-year-old Samuel met British woman Patricia Taylor, and they welcomed their son Keanu on September 2, 1964. Family dynamics proved challenging for Samuel. Memories of playing with his young son on Hawaiian beaches stayed with him, but the family’s relationship suffered after their move to Australia during Keanu’s toddler years. Samuel’s later years brought serious health challenges. He battled both diabetes and Graves’ disease. His life came to an end on January 26, 2018, in Ewa Beach, Hawaii at age 75. This piece delves deeper into his complex legacy and life story.
Early Life and Cultural Roots of Samuel Nowlin Reeves
Birth and family background in Hawaii
Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr. was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on September 13, 1942. He grew up with three siblings in a vibrant island community. The family home buzzed with activity as he shared his childhood with brothers Victor Kauluwehionalani and Gill Moler Reeves. Samuel’s Hawaiian heritage ran deep through his father’s side of the family.
His father, Samuel Nowlin Reeves Sr., was born in 1921 in Honolulu and lived until 1982. The senior Reeves tied the knot with Momilani Sarah Victor in February 1942, a few months before Samuel Jr. came into the world. These strong island connections shaped Samuel Jr.’s identity and later influenced his son Keanu’s cultural roots.
Multicultural heritage: Chinese, Hawaiian, Portuguese, and more
Samuel’s background reflects an array of cultures that mirrors Hawaii’s rich diversity. His ancestry blends Portuguese-American, Chinese, Hawaiian, Irish, and English roots. This mix of cultures became a key part of who he was throughout his life.
His family tree tells a rich story. Samuel’s paternal grandparents were Sampson Witt Reeves and Mary Virginia Armistead Nowlin from Tennessee, along with José Miguel from Portugal and Maria Kealoha from Maui. His grandfather Charles Armistead Reeves, an Irish-English American from Tennessee, married Rose Lokalia Miguel, who had Hawaiian and Portuguese parents. Family stories tell how Charles’ relatives cut ties with him for marrying someone they labeled a “savage”. This sad detail shows the cultural conflicts of those times.
Education at American University in Beirut
Samuel broke from his family’s typical path and headed to American University in Beirut, Lebanon, in the early 1960s. He studied geology there, showing more interest in natural sciences than the entertainment careers that would later run in his family.
His time at university shaped both his career and personal life. The years in Lebanon led him to meet Patricia Taylor, a British woman who would become his wife and Keanu’s mother. Their paths crossed in Beirut while both were in their early twenties, starting a family line that would produce one of Hollywood’s most beloved stars.
Marriage to Patricia Taylor and Family Life
Samuel Nowlin Reeves’ love story started in Beirut, Lebanon. His academic journey led him to an unexpected romance that would change his life.
How Samuel met Patricia in Lebanon
Life brought two young expatriates together at American University in Beirut. Samuel Nowlin Reeves and Patricia Taylor met as students in the early 1960s. Both were barely into their twenties. “My mother and father were like 22, 21,” Keanu shared later on the Conversations with Charlie podcast. Their romance flourished in Beirut, a city known then as “the Paris of the Middle East”. Patricia, who came from Essex, England, fell in love with the Hawaiian-born geology student.
Birth of Keanu Reeves and Kim Reeves
The couple married in 1964. Patricia gave birth to their first child, Keanu Charles Reeves, on September 2, 1964, in Beirut. Samuel chose the name “Keanu” for his son, which means “cool breeze over the mountains” in Hawaiian.
The family stayed in Lebanon for a few months before deciding to move. Keanu later explained it simply: “So they met, they fell in love and they had a baby, and that was me. Then they stayed there for a few months and they ended up going to Australia”.
Relocation to Australia and eventual separation
The couple welcomed their second child, daughter Kim Reeves, after moving to Sydney, Australia in 1966. Their relationship started showing signs of strain during this time. Samuel left the family while Keanu was around three years old, cutting their marriage short.
Patricia took charge as the primary caregiver and moved with the children to New York City. They later settled in Toronto, Canada, where they became Canadian citizens. Samuel went back to Hawaii, which ended his involvement in his children’s everyday lives.
Samuel’s departure created a lasting emotional gap in the family. Though they tried to reconnect years later, the father-son relationship remained distant throughout their lives.
Career Path and Legal Troubles
Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr.’s life changed course after his geology studies, leading him down a path filled with personal struggles and legal problems.
Original work as a geologist and farmer
Samuel’s geology education from American University in Beirut helped him build a professional foundation that matched his love for natural sciences. Most of his family members chose entertainment careers later, but he picked a path connected to the earth and its resources. His farming background went together with his geological expertise, giving him a unique point of view on land management and agricultural practices.
Samuel worked as a Hawaiian-Chinese farmer early in his career. He managed to keep a deep love for the land and approached his agricultural work with purpose. His cultural roots connected him deeply to Hawaii’s natural environment.
Involvement in drug trafficking and arrests
Life took a dark turn as money problems piled up. Debt and personal challenges pushed him to start importing Mexican heroin and cocaine in the 1990s. This choice started a troubled chapter in his life.
Police arrested Samuel at Hilo International Airport in 1992 when he tried to sell heroin to someone he knew. “All of a sudden, we were surrounded by cops,” he remembered about the whole ordeal. The court gave him ten years in prison for drug trafficking. He ended up serving about two years and got released early in 1996.
Effect of addiction on his personal life
A 20-year heroin addiction wreaked havoc on Samuel’s relationships, especially with his children. He admitted that drugs and his wandering lifestyle drove a wedge between him and his family. “I’ve always smoked pot,” he said in one interview, adding, “In Beirut I did some cocaine and heroin, then I stopped, but started again in Hawaii”.
His addiction hurt not just Keanu but also damaged his bond with his daughter Kim, who battled leukemia during these tough times. After prison, he lived with his mother in Kapahulu, near Waikiki Beach, and kept visiting a drug treatment center for methadone. Looking back at his choices, he simply said: “I’m embarrassed by it all”.
Relationship with Keanu Reeves
The father-son relationship between Samuel Nowlin Reeves and Keanu left deep emotional scars that ended up shaping their limited bond.
Early interactions and final meeting at age 13
Samuel walked away from his family when Keanu was just three years old. They managed to keep occasional contact during Keanu’s childhood. These brief meetings happened when Keanu visited Hawaii during holidays. Keanu remembers: “I knew him up until I was six. Then I saw him occasionally when I would go to Hawaii on holidays”.
Their last meaningful encounter happened in Kauaʻi, Hawaii, when Keanu turned 13. Samuel remembered their final moments together with fondness: “Occasionally, the spray would wash over the shelf, and the water would rush around our legs, and I would lift him up and hold him really tight”. The next ten years brought complete silence from his father – “no calls, no letters, nothing”.
Keanu’s public statements about his father
Keanu rarely talks about his relationship with Samuel. A 1991 Rolling Stone interview captured his raw emotions as he called their relationship “pretty heavy” and “full of pain and woe and f*ing loss and all that st”. Years later in 2000, when asked about his father’s legal troubles, Keanu gave a short response: “It’s his life, man. I hope he’s well. Whatever that means”.
The Guardian interviewed Keanu in 2019, where he spoke about how his father’s absence affected him: “For sure, I think it’s definitely traumatizing. But it’s hard to know how [it affected me] because I don’t know what the other life would have been”.
Attempts at reconciliation and emotional distance
Samuel showed regret about his role as a father. He told Woman’s Day in 1995: “I’m not very proud of myself as a father, but I am proud of my son. I hope we can settle so I can explain why he didn’t have a dad as a young boy”. Yet, they never found common ground.
Samuel’s final years were filled with unfulfilled hopes of reconnecting. He admitted: “I pretty much know what he’s doing, but he’s made it clear that he wants nothing to do with me”. His love remained unchanged whatever their relationship status: “He’ll always be my boy”.
Samuel passed away in 2018 at age 76. Keanu and his sister Kim chose not to attend the funeral.
Conclusion
Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr.’s life was full of contrasts. His story began with multicultural Hawaiian roots and academic studies in Lebanon, but took a dark turn into addiction and crime. His relationship with his famous son became the most defining part of his legacy. The father-son connection broke beyond repair after their last meeting when Keanu turned 13.
Samuel’s story shows how addiction tears families apart across generations. His two-decade struggle with heroin destroyed his marriage and created an emotional gap with his children that never closed. Later in life, he admitted, “I’m not very proud of myself as a father,” but true healing remained out of reach.
Keanu Reeves turned this painful void into motivation for his own path forward. He rarely talks about his father, but his words show the deep scars of abandonment. “It’s definitely traumatizing,” he once said, while thinking about “what the other life would have been.”
Samuel died in 2018 without reconnecting with his children. His story reflects missed chances and deep regrets. The untold chapter of Keanu’s father shows how our choices echo through generations, leaving both wounds and unexpected resilience in those who remain.
