JOHN H. (JACK) SEELY
1921-2008
John H. (Jack) Seely was born September 24, 1921 in Pensacola, Florida. He peacefully passed away at home on May 28, 2008 surrounded by his family and friends.
Viewing will be held 6:00-8:00 PM Sunday June 1, at Culley's MeadowWood Funeral Home, 700 Timberlane Road, Tallahassee, Fl, 32312. Funeral Mass will be held 11:00 AM Monday, June 2 at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Tallahassee.
He was raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. where he was very active in his church and sang at weddings and funeral masses. He served honorably as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy during WWII and the Korean Conflict. He received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1949 and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Syracuse University in 1960. From 1949 to 1976 he worked at IBM in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and was at the forefront of development of computer technology. He and a small team of engineers were responsible for creating and developing heat transfer technology. He left what would have been an illustrious career at IBM to follow his passion to teach. From 1976 to April 1982 he served as Professor of Mechanical Engineering at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California. He retired from Cal Poly to Tallahassee where he approached Florida State University and FAMU to volunteer and was solicited to chair the engineering department ,which he agreed to do for one year, following which he returned to his passion for teaching. He continued to teach until 2005. During his professional and academic career he published three text books and forty three articles, papers and reports. As a result of his text book writing he was awarded two honorary PHD's. He was listed in Who's Who of Mechanical Engineers. He was elected a fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He was an avid reader and writer. He was a golf enthusiast and shot his age as recently as November 2007. Family History was very important to him. He spent numerous hours in researching family roots. He married his loving wife Marcella, July 4, 1945, they had 63 wonderful years together.
Other survivors include his sister Rose Mary Nove of Prescott, Arizona, four nephews, four nieces, four great nephews and a great niece. He will be terribly missed by his family and friends.
Published in the Pensacola News Journal (FL) - June 1, 2008
Deceased Name: Professor, 'consummate professional' Jack Seely remembered at funeral
By Gerald Ensley
DEMOCRAT SENIOR WRITER
Jack Seely was not good at retiring. He retired from IBM and taught at a California university. He retired to Tallahassee and helped establish the Florida A&M-Florida State College of Engineering. He retired several times from that school yet kept coming back.
Having served in two wars, helped inaugurate computer technology and written three engineering textbooks, Seely wasn't one to sit still.
"He was the consummate professional," said George Buzyna, a retired member of the FAMU-FSU engineering faculty. "They don't make people like him anymore."
Seely, 86, died May 28 after a long battle with heart disease. More than 100 people attended his funeral Monday at Good Shepherd Catholic Church. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Marcella.
Seely was a native of Pensacola who was raised in Brooklyn and served as a Navy officer during World War II and the Korean War. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering.
In 1949 he joined International Business Machines in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He was part of a team responsible for developing the heat-transfer technology that kept computers from overheating.
"The only reason your computer works today is the heat-transfer application," said Robert Nove, Seely's nephew. "He won several patents for IBM."
Seely retired from IBM in 1976 to teach at California State Polytechnic University. Then he retired to Tallahassee, where he had spent a year teaching at FAMU as part of an IBM program.
In 1982, he volunteered his services to the new college of engineering. He wound up helping hire the first faculty members, served a year as chair of the mechanical-engineering department and taught part time through 2005. He also organized faculty and student chapters of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
He and his wife were active members of Good Shepherd Catholic Church and traveled almost annually to Ireland. He loved opera and sang at weddings and funerals.
His favorite pastime was golf. He played three times a week with the SLUGS, a group of senior golfers at Killearn Country Club. Though a 26-handicap, he managed to shoot an 81 -one stroke below his age - in 2004. He was famous for his distaste for slow play and a growling epithet for his bad shots: fache mare (fahtch-ay mah-ree).
"It sounds like something you shouldn't say in front of women," said Burt Mead, of the SLUGS. "But it didn't mean a damn thing. He just made it up."
Published in the Tallahassee Democrat (FL) - June 4, 2008
[Great-great-grandson of SGS # 3279 - John Henry Jr.; John Henry; Joseph A.; Benjamin Warren; Jehu [SGS #3279]; John/Jehu [SGS #1466]; Samuel; Elijah; Obadiah; Obadiah; Obadiah]
| 
