Patricia M. Seely (born O'Boyle)
Personal
Gender: Female
Date of Birth: May 15, 1964
Date of Death: January 2005
Birth Place: Cooperstown, NY
Death Place: Hancock, NY
Patricia M. Seely
Patricia M. Seely, 40, of Hancock, N.Y., died Monday, January 31, 2005, at home, after a 6 1/2 year battle with breast cancer. She was born on May 15, 1964 in Cooperstown to Joseph and Carmella (Senia) O’Boyle. She married Frank Seely on December 21, 1991 in Walton, N.Y. She was a member of St. Paul’s Church, Hancock. She was a former member of the Hancock Firemen’s Auxiliary. She worked at the Grand Union until the children were born and she became a “stay-at-home” Mom. She is survived by her husband, Frank Seely; son, Anthony Seely; daughter, Carmella Seely; father, Joseph and Pat O’Boyle; sister, Theresa Allen; half-sister, Marlene Tuttle; step-sisters and brothers, Rick Charles, Cheryl Makowski, Vicky Cuvlier, Gina Wrighter, Laurie Ellis; uncles and aunts, Frank and Amy O’Boyle, Andy and Grace Senia; aunt, Agnes Gales; very special friends, Joyce Thomas and Sandra Karcher; several aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. Her mother, Carmella O’Boyle, predeceased her in 1964.
Calling hours will be Wednesday, February 2, 2005, from 6-9 p.m., at St. Paul’s Church, Hancock, N.Y. A Funeral Mass will be held Thursday, February 3, 2005, at the church at 10:00 a.m. The Rev. Stephen Morris will officiate. Burial will take place at St. Paul’s Cemetery, Hancock, N.Y. In lieu of flowers, Patty’s request was that donations be made to an education fund for the children. Donations can be made to NBT, Hancock, N.Y. Arrangements are being handled by Henderson-Biedekapp Funeral Chapel, Hancock, N.Y.
Published in the Press & Sun-Bulletin February 2, 2005
Patty Seely, advocate for mammograms, dies at 40
HANCOCK — For six and a half years after Patty Seely was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, she fought her way past monumental milestones.
Day by day, year by year, the Hancock resident endured painful radiation treatments, surgery and chemotherapy as the cancer spread to her brain, liver and lymph nodes.
She remained alive for her daughter’s fourth birthday and her son’s sixth. And then another.
And another. The primary motivation in her battle to survive was her family. Her children needed her. Her husband needed her. But she also wanted to deliver this message to others: Don’t give up. Life is worth every minute.
“Someday, I know I’ll have to surrender and say goodbye to my precious family, but for Sunday I’m going to celebrate,” she told a reporter before a Mother’s Day celebration with her family in May.
Ms. Seely, 40, died Monday, leaving her husband, Frank; her 9-year-old daughter, Carmella; and her 11-year-old son, Anthony.
Ms. Seely was always outgoing and upbeat, said Sandra Karcher, a lifelong friend. The cancer diagnosis in the summer of 1998 “brought out even more about what she was about,” Karcher said.
Ms. Seely became an outgoing advocate for mammograms and the importance of detecting breast cancer early for optimal treatment.
If the disease is caught in its early stages, patients have a 98 percent chance of surviving more than five years, according to statistics from the American Cancer Society. If it is diagnosed after it has spread to other organs, the survival rate drops to 26 percent.
Even when she was too ill to walk, she joined others in the society’s annual walk to raise awareness and money for the cause.
“I’m going to keep on fighting,” she said in a 2002 interview.
“I have never been so excited about a walk. I’ll be there, even if it’s in a wheelchair or my kids’ red wagon.”
She made it to that one. And the next. And the next.
Her 2002 quote still hangs on the wall of the office of the American Cancer Society’s Southern New York Region in Endicott.
“She wanted to send a message. She wanted to make a difference. And she did,” said Donna Rider, director of community systems for the cancer society.
Each year, more than 250 women in Broome, Tioga and Chenango counties are diagnosed with breast cancer, and 54 will die from it, Rider said.
But the impact of breast cancer goes much deeper than statistics can show, she added.
“Unfortunately, we talk about numbers and survival rates. These are mothers, daughters, community leaders. … There are people behind the numbers, and there are tears behind this one.”
Calling Hours
Calling hours for Patty Seely will be from 6 to 9 p.m. today at St. Paul’s Church, West Main Street, Hancock. The funeral will be 10 a.m. Thursday at the church.
Published in the Press & Sun Bulletin (Binghamton, NY) on February 2, 2005
