Marjorie Seeley (born McClure )
Personal
Gender: Female
Date of Death: April 23, 2018
Birth Place: Toledo, OH
Death Place: Lancaster, OH
Marjorie “Marge” McClure Seeley
Lancaster – Marjorie “Marge” McClure Seeley, 94, of Lancaster died on April 23, 2018 in her sleep at Fairfield Medical Center.
Marge was born in Toledo, graduated from Wauseon (Ohio) High School, and went to Ohio University in Athens to study piano, which she had begun at age four. At OU, she was a solo performer and accompanist. She had scholarships to spend summers at the Lake Chautauqua (New York) Music Festival where she studied with professors visiting from the Juilliard School of Music.
Upon graduation in 1945 from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, Marge moved to Cleveland to teach music at Laurel School, a private girls’ academy in Shaker Heights. During that time, she studied piano with Beryl Rubenstein and Arthur Loesser at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
A high school classmate introduced her to Robert “Bob” Seeley, whom she married in 1947. She continued teaching until they started their family of five children in 1951. In 1957, they moved to Lancaster, Ohio and Marge quickly became active in the music community. She joined the Lancaster Music Club and was always happy to perform or provide accompaniment for other musicians. She also belonged to several national music organizations: Sigma Alpha Iota, National Federation of Music Clubs, Music Teachers National Association, and National Guild of Piano Teachers. She enjoyed tremendously the camaraderie of other musicians she knew over the years.
In the late 1960s, she resumed teaching in her home and continued until age 92 when her health and energy declined. Over the years, she prepared her students for contests, performances, and auditions; she guided some of them in their music pursuits as adults. Many of these students and their families became lifelong friends and musical colleagues.
For 28 years, from 1989 through 2016, Marge recruited professional musicians from central Ohio and usually performed in the Lancaster Music Club’s annual, free “Mostly American Music” concert recently held at the First Presbyterian Church. She coordinated the entire event which featured different classical, jazz, and popular musical pieces each year. One of the highlights occurred when Dave Brubeck consulted by telephone with the musicians who were preparing to perform his piece, “Points On Jazz” for two pianos.
Marge belonged to the First Presbyterian Church, where she was a deacon and a member of the music committee. She attended her high school reunions in Wauseon and was often accompanied by Bob, who became well known to class members. Marge is survived by her children, Linda Seeley (Steve Henderson) of Murrieta, CA; Craig Seeley of Toledo; Karen Seeley (David Samuelson) of Seattle; Laurel Seeley (Bennie Moore) of Columbus; and Wade Seeley of San Diego; grandchildren Jay and Carolyn Samuelson, and Kai and Stella Bauer-Seeley; sister Connie Morison of Avon Lake; many cousins, nieces, and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Seeley, in 2011.
A service will take place at the First Presbyterian Church, 222 N. Broad St., Saturday May 5th at 2:30 PM. Please join us afterwards in the church dining room for food and fellowship.
Published in the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette on April 29, 2018
