Saralee Seal

Saralee Seal 70, Pueblo, Colorado 1955 – 2026
It is with great sadness that the family of Saralee Seal announces her passing at the age of 70 while home, from natural causes.
Saralee is survived by her partner Karen Hatch and their 4 cats; her brother Ulie (Cathy), sisters Pamela (Jim), Rebecca, & Kathleen (Richard); and 9 nieces and nephews and their children. She is preceded in death by her parents Ulysses S. Seal III (2003) and Marialice F. Seal (1997), and her dear close friend Shauna L. Gilbert (2022).
Saralee was born in Atlanta Georgia in 1955 while her parents lived in a Quonset hut that was married student housing as her dad completed his PhD in Biochemistry and her mother all but completed her RN training both at Emory where they met. The small family moved to Minneapolis shortly thereafter for her dad to do a Post-doc at the Veterans Administration hospital. At 2 years old she welcomed her brother Ulie into the family and soon after her sister Pam. Saralee was extremely intelligent, creative, and talkative as a child and took to reading as a lifelong passion with a special fondness for science fiction. She studied piano, sang in choirs at school and in church at St. Patrick’s Episcopal in Bloomington. Starting third grade, Saralee learned so quickly that they advanced her to 6th grade that same year. Her sisters Rebecca and Kathleen joined the family when Saralee was about 7 and 9 years old, and the family now lived in Bloomington MN where she graduated from John F. Kennedy High School class of 1971 at the age of 16. She was accepted into Macalester College and studied Psychology where she made lifelong friends.
She loved sitting on the floor with headphones on listening to Moody Blues, while knitting and reading all at the same time. She still had a place on her lap for the family dogs and cat to nestle in for comfort and warmth in the cold MN winters. Jo, the Sudanese banded lizard and Ricki Ticki Tavi, the orphaned squirrel held a special place in her heart. She named the family’s Hallstrom dogs from New Guinea, Geri and Freki after the wolves that lay at Odens feet in Norse Mythology and the cat Frodo from Lord of the Rings decades before the movies came out.
A new chapter in her life began when Saralee entered treatment at St. Mary’s Hospital for chemical dependency about 1974. Through facing her personal struggles with courage, she opened a door for growth and healing for the whole family to break multi-generational cycles of chemical dependency. Saralee embraced her life in the LGBTQ+ community and moved to Denver Colorado to have a fresh start. She loved the mountains and the cultural scene and was an active participant in local politics supporting elections and candidates.
Saralee was kind with a great sense of humor and knitted Afghans for 1000’s of hours to wrap all of the people she knew and loved in warmth and their favorite colors. She loved to talk about books and her favorite authors and generously shared from her library to get you into the scene with her. Her kindness spread to many, MANY rescue dogs and cats over the years. She always had room in her heart and home for strays that would choose them. So many times, she would call to say another kitty told her, “I live here now, thank you!” with her famous chuckle.
Saralee’s last employment was with Ibotta as a care agent where she could work safely from home as her mobility became more limited. During her career, she worked many business computing support roles including for realtors and for a water exploration & drilling company in Colorado. Nothing kept Saralee down. When a business was sold and layoffs were the result she went straight to the temp hiring and more times than not after working temp for a few weeks the companies were so impressed with her abilities, they would hire her permanently. Saralee always paid her way, gave back, and was a supportive community member. We miss you Saralee and wish you nothing but peace and happiness always.
A memorial service is not planned at this time with scattering of ashes to be done privately in the beautiful Colorado Mountains she loved so much.
If you want to assist Karen with supporting their cats in Saralee’s absence – donations would be preferred to flowers. You can also see this obituary on Facebook.