Lorene Seeley, Microbiologist, Volunteer, Fly-Fishing Devotee
By Carole Beers
Seattle Times Staff Reporter
Lorene Patricelli Seeley let no grass grow under her sneakers.
She earned a degree in medical technology at the University of Washington in 1962.
She taught herself to string tennis rackets, coached her children's music and sports efforts, and hit a mean golf and tennis ball.
And from Mrs. Seeley's Italian-American relatives, she learned to make mouth-watering wine and ravioli.
Of all her activities, fishing ranked near the top. The Seattle native early on developed a strong wrist and a line of colorful flies.
"One of her joys was opening day fishing with her cousins on Pine Lake," said her husband of 29 years, Jack Seeley of Seattle. "The ultimate achievement was when she out-fished her ace-fisherman cousin, Larry, using a self-tied fly which he then borrowed."
Mrs. Seeley died last Wednesday (Dec. 18) of cancer. She was 57.
Her father taught her how to handle a hammer, saw and fishing pole. Later, her husband had trouble keeping scrap wood around the house because she kept taking it to build planters.
In the 1960s and '70s Mrs. Seeley worked as a clinical microbiologist at what was then Veterans Hospital and did research at Harborview Medical Center. Her work with Dr. George Counts, involving a study of Fort Lewis recruits exposed to meningitis, was written up in 1971 in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.
However, she was known to thousands as "The T-Shirt Lady" who gave shirts to participants in the Broadmoor/Madison Park Guild's Shore Run and Walk, benefiting the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Mrs. Seeley also was a familiar sight at her children's schools, where she helped teachers and coaches, and chaperoned band trips. She taught herself to string tennis rackets after her daughter kept breaking strings in tournaments.
Mrs. Seeley was always dressed for action, said her husband: "Lorene never had enough dresses to wear, but she always had enough money for a new tennis warm-up suit. We're burying her in a mauve one with a Shore Run T-shirt underneath."
Other survivors include Mrs. Seeley's son, Kevin Seeley of Issaquah, and daughter, Heather Seeley of Seattle.
Services are scheduled for noon Saturday at University Unitarian Church, 6556 35th Ave. N.E. Remembrances can go to the Lorene Seeley Memorial Fund, c/o the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1124 Columbia St., Seattle, WA 98104; or the Amy Yee Scholarship Fund, Sports Advisory Council, Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, 100 Dexter Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103.
Published in the Seattle Times (WA), on December 24, 1996
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