Obituary: William Donald ‘Don’ Seick

William Donald ‘Don’ Seick
May 5, 1925~Nov. 20, 2010
William Donald “Don” Seick was born May 5, 1925, in Craig, Colo. He was the third son of John Jacob David Seick and Winifred Anise Denney Seick. The story goes he was born in a home on Breeze Street or Taylor Street. The family dispute was never settled.
Don passed away on Nov. 20, 2010, at the Walbridge Wing Nursing home in Meeker, Colo. His wife and his daughter were at his side.
He grew up on the original Seick homestead on Lower Big Gulch and later on the Jack Rabbit Ranch north of Craig. He attended schools in Debeque, Colo., Lower Big Gulch and Craig.
During his senior year of high school, at the age of 17, he was called to serve in the Navy in World War ll. He enlisted on May 10, 1943, and was discharged on Dec. 21, 1945. He arrived home to Craig on Christmas Eve Dec. 24, 1945. He served as a torpedo repairman in the South Pacific on the islands of Guam and Tulagi. He received his high school diploma from Craig High School with the Class of 1943.
After his Honorable Discharge from the Navy and his return to Craig he found nobody in Moffat County was hiring torpedo men so he was going to have to look for other work.
That was when the boy became a truck driver and a good one. Don went on to drive trucks through the United States and in later years to the North Slope of Alaska.
He married his love, Ruth Margaret Wright, on July 15, 1945, in Craig and they celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary this past summer. To this union two children were born, LaDawn Lea and Michael Edward.
Don eventually took up farming on the family farm which he continued until his retirement in 2000. At that time he and Ruth moved into town and resided at Sunset Meadows. They moved to the Walbridge Wing in Meeker in June 2009, where they have since resided.
Don loved people and never knew a stranger. He was always ready to tell a story and they got bigger and better each time he told it. He had the art of story telling and his stories were cherished.
He was an avid reader who gained a wealth of knowledge and he was always willing to share. Through Don’s passion of reading he gained much wisdom. He was truly a self-educated man and a self-proclaimed professor.
Don was a Christian man and a member of the First Christian Church since 1946. He was also a Charter member of the VFW and a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, gifted with 52 years of sobriety. He was honest and full of wisdom.
He was the patriarch of his family and family was first. He loved his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He had many, many friends in his lifetime and you know who you were and how precious you were to him.
He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Winnie Seick; brothers Edward Ferdinand, John David and Marion Milton; and sister-in-law Alvina Seick.
He is survived by his wife Ruth of Meeker, daughter LaDawn (Glenn) Sexton of Craig and son Michael (Denise) Seick of Craig. His brother Wayne Seick of Mesquite, Nev., and sister-in-law Hazel Seick of Scotts Valley, Calif.
Grandchildren Jim Gumber of Craig; Tobi (Frank) Chacon of Craig; Christopher (Lindsay) Seick of Midvale, Utah; and Aaric and Brandon Seick of Craig.
Great-grandchildren Javen, Reilley, Brooke and Joshua Gumber of Craig; Marlee, Isaac and Jerod Chacon of Craig; and Andrew Sexton of Craig.
Services for Don were held at the Grant Mortuary on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010. Pastor Roger Barnes officiated and LaDawn Sexton gave her dad’s eulogy.
Selections were the “Green, Green Grass of Home,” “Whispering Hope” and “How Great Thou Art” by The Allen Family and Wayne Davis; “Draw Me Close to You,” by Frank Chacon and Dave Ginther and “God Bless America,” by Marlee Chacon, violin.
Honorary pallbearers were Mike Duzik, Gale Norman, Blaine Tucker, Gary Van Tassel, Jim Robertson and Ken Nachtman.
A luncheon followed at the Craig Christian Church.
Interment of the cremains will be a private ceremony by the family.
He will be sadly missed by all who loved him and no one will ever take his place. He was one-of-a-kind.