Robert Neil Seeley
Robert Neil Seeley, 87, died March 27th, at Columbine Care Center West (Ft. Collins, CO). He was a production planner at Martin Marietta in Denver. He is survived by his children, Janet, Mitchell, Neil and grandchildren, Lauren, Kara, and Zachary. A memorial service will be held on April 9, 2005 from 4pm to 5:30pm. (For details, contact Bohlender Funeral Chapel at 970-482-4244.) The family welcomes shared memories by participants at the service or e-mailed to jkseeley@webaccess.net.
Published in the Rocky Mountain News (CO) - April 3, 2005
Robert N. Seeley
Robert Neil Seeley, 87, died Sunday, March 27, 2005, at Columbine Care Center West with his daughter by his side, after a recent illness.
Bob was born Christmas Day, 1917, in Oklahoma City, to his parents, Josephine and Edwin Seeley. The family moved to Topeka, Kan., but after the early death of his mother, Bob (10 years old) was raised by his grandparents and aunt (George B., Minerva and Creta Seeley) in Norton, Kan. He graduated in 1942 from Kansas State Teachers College in Emporia, where, as president of the unaffiliated student association, he won the heart of a spunky freshman, Arlene Schwab. June wedding plans were moved to May 24, 1942, due to entry of the United States into World War II.
Bob joined the Army Air Corps in June and trained as an air tower controller but spent the war years managing a warehouse in Delhi, India. Returning to Wichita, Kan., he and Arlene made their loving contributions to the baby boom with Janet, Mitchell and Neil. Drawing on his Army experience, Bob worked as a project planning engineer at Beach and Boeing Aircraft in Wichita. The family then moved to Denver, where Bob helped build Titan III missiles for Martin Marietta.
A man of optimism and quiet passions, shaped by the Depression and WWII, Bob lived a full life, overcoming multiple health problems later in life. His children remember his rich bass voice singing "Summertime" and other popular Gershwin tunes as lullabies. Bob also sang in high school, college, church and the Wichita choirs. He was a thrilling dance partner. Bob and Arlene rarely missed an opportunity to swing to the tunes of the Big Bands. He enjoyed quoting his favorite poets, Robert Frost and Walt Whitman and was also renowned for his sense of humor, holding his audience spellbound as lengthy tales spun from his lips.
Longtime members of the Unitarian Church, Bob and Arlene were champions of the civil rights movement. After retirement, Bob tutored international students from Colorado State University in our challenging English language. He was drawn to the richness of encyclopedias the specificity of dictionaries, and the allure of world maps. His interest in ideas was like a geologist's fascination for rocks, picking them up and examining them from every angle.
Bob is survived by his children, Janet of Fort Collins, Mitchell of Denver and Neil of Atlanta; his three grandchildren, Lauren, Kara, and Zachary; and many other friends and relations.
He was preceded in death by his two younger sisters, Joanne and Suvane, and by Arlene, his wife of 59 years.
A memorial service will be from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, April 9, at Janet's home, 5431 Fossil Creek Drive. For directions, call 223-6488. The family welcomes shared memories by participants at the service or e-mailed to jkseeley @webaccess.net.
Robert would remind us that all children of this Earth are family and ask us to respect each other as sons and daughters of the same creative force.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hospice of Larimer County or the Celiac Disease Foundation in care of Bohlender Funeral Chapel, 121 W. Olive St., Fort Collins, CO 80524.
Published in the Fort Collins Coloradoan (CO) - March 31, 2005
|
