Geraldine Seely (born Erickson)
Personal
Gender: Female
Date of Birth: April 7, 1925
Date of Death: April 8, 2020
Birth Place: Centerville, WA
Death Place: Newberg, OR
Geraldine Seely
April 7, 1925 ˜ April 8, 2020
Geraldine “Gerry” Seely quietly passed away on April 8, 2020, one day after celebrating her 95th birthday. She left behind a lifetime of motherhood, family and friends. Gerry was born in the small town of Centerville, WA on April 7, 1925. She was the oldest child of Esther Erickson. The family later moved to the community of Hockinson, northeast of Vancouver, WA.
Gerry graduated from Battle Ground High School in 1943 and, like many of her generation, worked to support the war effort. Notably she flew P-38 Lightning fighter planes as a ferry pilot and was a ship welder at the Port of Vancouver, WA.
Gerry married Warren E. Seely in 1951. Together they operated a peppermint farm in the community of Fargher Lake, north of Battle Ground, while raising a daughter, Marion, and sons, Steven, Warren, Daniel and Michael. In the late 1950’s, raising poultry was added to the farming operations. This endeavor was so successful that Warren was hired as a senior agricultural advisor developing large poultry farms in Iran. This afforded them the opportunity to travel through much of the Middle East and Europe.
After retiring from farming in 1984, they traveled extensively in Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Spain, Portugal, and Great Britain. A part of Gerry’s heart is still in Costa Rica.
In 1991, they moved to Sunriver, OR, and returned to Vancouver, WA in 2005.
After Warren’s passing in 2010, Gerry remained in Vancouver until 2015. Her last residence was at a Newberg, OR retirement community.
Gerry had an adventuresome heart. She loved to travel, swim, hone her Spanish language skills, discuss history and politics and was fascinated by life in general. She was loved and will be missed.
Honoring her wishes, Gerry has been cremated and will be interred with Warren at a later date.
Published in The Columbian on May 3, 2020
[Wife of great-great-grandson of SGS # 3052 – Warren Eugene; Joseph Leroy; Joseph Bem; Joseph S.; Bishop (#3052); Stephen Bishop (#1323); John; John S; Obadiah; Obadiah; Obadiah]
