Obituary of Jean - Seikel

Jean Seikel 1908-2010 At her request, no services are planned at this time for Jean Seikel who passed away at the age of 102 on May 13, 2010. A private family memorial will be held later. Her ashes will be scattered at sea near Lighthouse Point as were her husband's. Jean was born February 10, 1908, to James and Jane Bell in a small village near Belfast, Ireland. She came with her mother in 1913 to Dunsmuir, California, to join her father who had come earlier "to provide better for his family than he could in Ireland". She lost her mother to the flu epidemic of 1918, and lived with her father while she attended the Dunsmuir schools. After attending Business College in Sacramento, she was employed in several jobs in Dunsmuir, mostly for the Southern Pacific Railroad, until she married Joe Seikel in 1934. They remained in Dunsmuir until 1961, then in 1963 after a brief stay in the bay area, Joe retired and they came to Santa Cruz, where they built and lived in their home in Paradise Park. After Joe passed away in 1995, Jean stayed in their home, improving it and her yard, and enjoying the Paradise Park community until fragile health required her to live in an assisted living environment. She always held fond memories of Ireland and especially of her friends and neighbors in Dunsmuir and Paradise Park. Jean was a lifetime member of The Order of Eastern Star, Fidelity Chapter in Dunsmuir. Her father became a Mason in Ireland before coming to this country. Jean's final years were spent at Country Villa in Watsonville where we, her family, feel she was extended the finest in personal attention and consideration. Jean and Joe had one child, son Ken Seikel, who is now living with his wife Inge in La Selva Beach. She is also survived by two grandchildren, Jerry Seikel of Larkin Valley, and Heidi Paris of Santa Cruz, and has four great-grandchildren, Fiona Seikel, and Brandan, Amber, and Miya Paris. In lieu of flowers you may make a Memorial contribution in Jean's name to Shriner's Children's Hospital, 2425 Stockton Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95817-2215.