Abbot Samson died at St Edmunds on 30 December 1211. As England was still under an interdict, when no one could be buried in hallowed ground, he was buried in the cloister garth. The interdict was lifted on 2 July 1214 and the prior and some of the senior monks wanted to move Samson's body for re-burial in the abbey church, ‘for greater honour’. But at this time the monks were embroiled in a bitter controversy over the election to the abbacy of Hugh of Northwold. His chief opponent was the sacrist, Robert of Graveley, who himself aspired to be abbot and whose candidature was supported by a strong party of monks. Graveley immediately opposed the re-burial of Samson in the church, saying that ‘no one, however great his power, ought to be buried there’. Instead it was decided to bury him in the chapter-house where Ording and Hugh I had been buried. Graveley organized the whole proceedings which took place on 12 August in the prior's absence. Samson's coffin was disinterred early in the morning, ‘about the hour of matins’, and left resting on a tripod in the garth until evening. Then, while the monks were at vespers, he buried the body in the chapter-house in the presence of only one of the monks. Graveley hoped to gain credit for his expedition and efficiency.

Samson's reputation at St Edmunds was high at the time of his death and remained so at least until well into the fifteenth century. This is apparent from the obituary notice in the contemporary Annales Sancti Edmundi and the commemoration in the Benefactors’ List preserved in the Kitchener's register. The passages are worth quoting, because even though in laudatory style, they show what aspects of Samson's rule the monks prized most. The obituary notice in the Annales, freely translated, reads as follows: