Paul E. Seeley

Paul Ellsworth Seeley of Newburyport, formerly of Wellesley, died at his home on March 16, 2015. He was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania on December 14, 1925, the son of George and Elsie (Reitze) Seeley. He was the husband of the late Doris M. (Mann) Seeley, father of Gordon E. Seeley of Ayer, Scott W. Seeley and his wife Nancy of Reading and Cynthia L. Seeley and her longtime companion Curt Sayers of Newburyport. 2 Granddaughters Emily A. Seeley of Chicago, Illinois and Amelia C. Seeley of Reading as well as his longtime companion Anne McDougall of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Paul graduated from Conneaut Valley High School and immediately joined the USMC at the age of 17. He became a Non-Commissioned officer and served in WW II for three years in the South and Western Pacific Theaters with Marine Corp Aviation Fighter Squadrons He saw action against the enemy during the recapture of Guam from the Japanese in August of 1944. He served four months on the aircraft carrier USS Wasp with the Marine Aviation Attached US Navy Fifth Fleet supporting the landings at Iwo Jima. He received the Navy Unit Commendation. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Staff Sergeant. After the war he attended and graduated from MIT class of 1949 and earned a Certificate in PMD from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.

He was employed as an Engineering Section Manager at RCA Burlington, MA from 1956 to 1984 where he was in charge of advanced technology development projects involving laser and radar equipment for the Military and NASA. He was the inventor of the Over-the-Horizon forward scatter detection technique that used high frequency radio waves. Because of its simplicity and effectiveness it formed the basis for an early warning system against ballistic missile launches that was installed by the Air Force. He led a NASA project for the design and test of a lunar laser altimeter which was used by the Apollo astronauts to map the surface of the moon from lunar orbit. From 1988 to 1994 he was in charge of the Canadian Office of The Mitre Corporation where he worked closely with the Canadian Military Forces in updating air surveillance radars. Upon retirement in 1995 until 2000, he was involved part-time on a technical project to maintain and improve the facilities at a Manufactured-Home Community in Western Pennsylvania.

He loved running and skiing and continued with these recreations throughout retirement. Somewhat noteworthy was the fact that he accomplished the feat of skiing down the Head Wall of Tuckerman's Ravine, Mt. Washington at the age of 51, accompanied by his daughter. He maintained an excellent knowledge of music and Civil War history.

He was a Registered Professional Engineer in Massachusetts, Life Member of the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers, a member of Sigma Xi the Scientific Research Society, Secretary for Class PMD-3 of Harvard Business School for 52 years, a member of Phi Beta Epsilon of MIT, a member of the Wellesley Hills Congregational Church, a Director of the Lakeside Condominium Association of Stuart, a member of the Wellesley College Club, a member of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation and a former member of the Wellesley Country Club.

A memorial service celebrating Paul's life will be held on Saturday April 11th at the MIT Chapel 48 Massachusetts Ave, in Cambridge at 11 am with a reception to follow at Twenty Chimneys on the MIT Campus. Relatives and friends are invited to attend. Reserved parking will be available at the Kresge parking lot.

Donations in Paul's memory may be made to Neurofibromatosis Northeast, 9 Bedford St., Burlington, MA 01803, http://nfincne.org/donate-to-nf, or the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation http://www.marineheritage.org/makedonation.asp.

Arrangements under the direction of the Douglass, Edgerley and Bessom Funeral Home, Reading, MA. For on line guest book visit johnbdouglassfuneralhome.com