Marie V. Seyferth

Marie Seyferth was a woman devoted to her husband, who loved her children and adored her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She appreciated the time she shared with each of her loved ones and she went out her way to make holidays a special time for them all. Born only a few years into the Great Depression, Marie entered the world on April 15, 1933. Her parents, James and Grace Pearl (Carlock) Fowler, were not new to parenting. Twenty two years prior to her birth, her parents had their first child with their second close behind. Six years before Marie was born, her older brother Bill came along. So Marie joined the family as the baby. Bill and Marie were both born and raised in Muskegon, MI, unlike their older sisters who had been born in Southern, Il. By the time Marie was born her sisters had families of their own and they were settled in Illinois. When Marie was eight years old, her parents moved the family from Muskegon Heights to Roosevelt Park, just off Henry Street on Oakridge Ave. When Marie was still a young girl, her brother Bill bought her her first bicycle with his GI money. At one point, while in high school, Marie contemplated moving to Illinois to be with her sisters, but she decided to stay on in Muskegon. Marie went to Muskegon Heights Schools where she was voted "class flirt" and runner up "best dancer." While in high school, Marie and Carl had a "chance meeting" at a dance. She graduated from high school in 1951 and that December 29th, the couple married. Carl's parents owned a cottage on Big Blue Lake in Northern Muskegon County. That was where Carl and Marie made their family home for more than 30 years. Carl provided for the family by working as a self-employed contractor. Over the years, Marie helped him keep the books and even learned to drive a double clutch dump truck. In sixteen years, Marie gave birth to eight children, Gerry, Paul, Richard, Kristine, Sue, Laurie, Amy and Stephanie. Sadly, she experienced deep grief early on with the loss of their son Richard who died at birth in 1958. In 1969, Marie and Carl also lost their daughter Stephanie, another tragic time for Marie. The life Marie and Carl provided for their children on Big Blue Lake was unforgettable. They remembered summers full of pulling weeds, raking the beach, digging for worms, fishing and skiing. They all had a great time, however, the girls did not appreciate the times they went out skiing and the boys would deceitfully dump them in the massive weed beds. There were many great moments. Marie always wanted the holidays to be special for the family. Christmas was remembered as a special family time and returning to school was made exciting with the children's new back-to-school clothes. Marie took pride in her family dinners, especially around the holidays when she would make special family recipes for turkey dressing. She also made sure that the grandkids all had "eggs in a cup." Marie was a skilled and crafty woman. She did all kinds of arts and crafts, including finishing furniture. Many Halloweens, her children sported the costumes that were hand made by Marie herself. In 1980, Marie and Carl were burdened with Carl's diagnosis of lung and brain cancer. For the following three years Marie was by Carl's side as they took numerous trips to the Mayo Clinic to seek expert medical advice. Marie was devoted to her husband and when he passed away on December 3, 1983, it was one of the most painful days in her life. As a mother, Marie was overflowing with pride. She was encouraged over the fact that her children were healthy, participating citizens functioning as a builder, teacher, lawyer, business owner, and office administrators. Marie stayed busy trying to keep up with all that was happening in the lives of her six children, eight grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. She loved visiting Amy in Chicago, often with her other daughters joining their visit. Marie also took special trips to Kansas City, KS to visit Paul's house. She shared many wonderful times with her grandkids, often beating them at Chinese checkers, helping them with their annual leaf collections and sharing her recipes with Jeff and Scott. She knew how to enjoy the simple things in life. She loved to laugh and shop at Plumb's Grocery Store on Sherman where she enjoyed pushing her cart up and down each and every aisle, never forgetting to purchase her diet coke. Friday nights, like clockwork, Marie looked forward to eating out at one of her favorite restaurants, like Sorento's or Chili's. She loved antique shopping at flea markets and garage sales. She was even up to hanging out this past New Year's Eve with the family at Sherman Lanes. When Carl died, Marie moved to Whitehall and Fremont for brief periods of time before moving into an apartment on Philo in Lakeside. She then moved across the street on Philo to a nice little "grandma house." Over the last six years, Marie enjoyed the wonderful company of her two special cats, Natasha and Boris. They were brother and sister Siamese cats. The cats sat together like bookends on either side of Marie and she would fondly say "Hi Baby," to them. Marie had suffered a series of strokes which impaired her speech. Her daughters, Laurie and Sue were able to understand and help her, however, Kristine had a more difficult time making out Marie's words. This would sometimes cause hilarious frustrations for both of them. Marie was a special woman to many people. She left countless beautiful and lasting memories with those she loved and she will be deeply missed. Marie Seyferth died from complications of a stroke on March 1, 2006 in Muskegon. Her surviving family includes, 2 sons, Gerry (Susan) Seyferth of Whitehall, MI, Paul (Rebecca) Seyferth of Fairway, KS; 4 daughters, Kristine Anderson of Fremont, MI, Sue (John) Scraver of Muskegon, Laurie (Mark) Kroesing of Muskegon, & Amy (Tony) Vecchioni of Chicago, IL; 8 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren; brother, William (Gloria) Fowler of Byron Center, MI; several nieces and nephews and 2 beloved cats, Natasha & Boris. She was preceded in death by her husband Carl on December 3, 1983, by son, Richard in 1958, a daughter, Stephanie in 1969; son-in-law, Andy Anderson in 2003, and by 2 sisters.