The death of Norman William “Rip” Seely of Ragged Point Beach, Saint John, husband of Bette (Hastings) Seely, occurred on Tuesday, July 8, 2003, at the Saint John Regional Hospital, after a period of failing health. Born in West Saint John, he was the son of the late William Thomas and Elizabeth Anne (McAllister) Seely. Rip was a graduate of Saint John High School he entered the Canadian Armed Forces and served as a Naval Seaman aboard the Aircraft Carrier HMCS Nabob from 1939 to 1945 and joined the Saint John Police Force serving as a Detective before moving to New York, USA, where he was employed for many years, before retiring to Saint John. Rip was a well known athlete and was a member of the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in Basketball and Baseball, and was voted the most outstanding basketball player of the Century for New Brunswick and was a member of the Saint John Hall of Fame. Rip was an extremely active supporter of basketball and wheel chair basketball in the Saint John and Kennebecasis area, and has a tournament named in his honour, “The Rip Seely Challenge”. And was an honourary member of St. Malachy’s Memorial High School and saint John High School Basketball Booster Club. He was a member of Trinity Anglican Church. Besides his wife, he is survived by two daughters, Sandra Day (Tony) of Rehoboth, Massachusetts and Wendy Eagan (Tom) of Greenwich, CT., two sons, Norman Seely (Patricia) of Fredericton, NB and Scott Seely (Dr. Georgia Seely) of Richmond, VA., one sister Shirley Martin of Boynton Beach, FL, eleven grandchildren, seven great grandchildren, several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by one sister, Muriel McCarthy and broth-in-law Hillary “Woody” Martin. Resting at Brenan’s Select Community Funeral Home, 111 Paradise Row, Saint John (506-634-7424), with visiting on Thursday and Friday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Funeral service will be held at Trinity Anglican Church, Charlotte Street, Saint John, NB on Saturday, July 12, 2003 at 11:00 a.m. A Royal Canadian Legion Tribute to a Veteran Service will commence at 7:00 p.m. Friday at Brenans. Remembrances may be made to the Canadian Diabetes Association, the NB Heart and Stoke Foundation or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
Published in the Telegraph Journal on 7/11/2003
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