Amelia A. Seely
Personal
Gender: Female
Date of Birth: August 1918
Date of Death: June 2, 2008
Birth Place: Montreal, Quebec
Death Place: Biddeford, ME
Amelia “Milly” Seely
BARRE – Amelia (“Milly”) Alice (Belmont) Seely, 89, wife of the late Rev. Ernest Seely, long time pastor of the Barre Congregational Church, passed away on June 2, 2008, at St. Andre Health Care Facility in Biddeford, Maine. She was predeceased by her husband in 1974 but continued to live in the Barre area until a month ago when she moved to the St. Andre Health Care Facility on the southern Maine Coast where she summered as a child.
Mrs. Seely was born in August 1918, and grew up in Montreal, Canada, becoming a naturalized citizen in 1956. She was educated in the Montreal school system and worked for various companies until her marriage to Ernest L. Seely in August 1944, which took place in the same Kennebunkport Congregational Church where her husband was the pastor, and where Milly’s granddaughter, Kelly Reilly, was married in August 2006. Milly and Ernie had met in the Ocean Park, Maine, community where both families had vacation homes.
They lived in Kennebunkport where Ernie served as pastor while he completed his studies at Andover Newton Theological Seminary in Newton, Mass. Thereafter, his calling took him to churches in Haverhill, Mass., Colebrook, N.H., and Manchester, N.H.
The family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in the mid-1950s when Rev. Seely took a role as head of Layman’s Work and Stewardship for the Ohio Congregational Churches. In this role, he was instrumental in conceiving, funding and overseeing the construction of the Pilgrim Hills Conference and Retreat Center.
Throughout these many moves, Mrs. Seely was a stalwart supporter of her husband and hands-on parent when his work took him away from home for long periods. Milly was a loving and loyal friend to all. Not a day passed that Milly was not helping someone.
After her husband’s death in 1974, Milly became an avid traveler, journeying to Europe and to visit her son in New York City and familiar places in Canada and southern Maine. She took special pleasure in babysitting for her grand-daughter, Kelly, when Kelly was a baby. Her daughter, Brenda, taught at the Berlin Elementary School for 34 years, where Milly volunteered as a helper in the classroom, mostly giving hugs when they were needed. Throughout her life, Milly’s fondness for animals generally and cats particularly, was well-known. Until the change in her living circumstances precluded it, she kept two stray cats as pets.
Her love of animals meant she always has a furry friend with her. In later years, she enjoyed sewing and knitting for many friends and family members.
Mrs. Seely was a member of the Barre Congregational Church for 49 years.
She leaves behind two children, Brenda, of Biddeford Pool, Maine, and Brenda’s fiancée, Giorgio Sarzanini; Michael and his wife, Meg Mithoefer, of Dorset, Vt., and Palm City, Fla.; three grandchildren, Kelly Reilly and her husband, Bryan, of Salem, Mass; Lucas Seely of New York City; and Mike Seely, Jr. of San Francisco, CA.
A private family service will take place at her daughter’s home in Biddeford, Maine, in August 2008 on what would have been her 90th birthday, at the convenience of the family.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial donation may be made in Milly’s name to the Animal Welfare Society, Old Holland Road, West Kennebunk, Maine 04043.
Local arrangements are in the care of the Pruneau-Polli Funeral Home in Barre.
Published in The Times Argus, (Montpelier-Barre, VT) – June 3, 2008
