Marilyn Antonacci Seegmiller

Marilyn Antonacci Seegmiller 1946 ~ 2007 In the late evening of March 15, 2007 Marilyn Antonacci Seegmiller passed away while on a trip to southern Utah after a valiant 10 year struggle with cancer. Her last wish was to see her horse, Shilo. She was able to do that several hours before succumbing to cancer in her liver and lungs. Marilyn was born in Springfield, Illinois on June 5, 1946 and was the only child of Daniel Antonacci and Pauline Bedoli Antonacci. She grew up in nearby Riverton, Illinois where she graduated from Riverton High School in 1964. She attended business college in St. Louis and graduated with an Associate Degree in 1965. She married Eddie A. Leon in 1966 and had two sons, Eddie Jr. and Daniel. They were later divorced. Marilyn married Ben Seegmiller in 1978 and she considered him to be the love of her life. Marilyn worked with her husband for more than 30 years in their mining consulting business and became a true professional partner helping him with projects in Liberia, People's Republic of China, Mexico, Chile, Bolivia and throughout the United States. She was a member of WAAIME (Women's Auxiliary American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers) where she served as Chairman for the Utah Northern section in 1985. She later was elected to the National Board of WAAIME and served in numerous Standing Committee Chairs including Nominating, Standing Rules and Scholarship Loan Fund. Marilyn was a very brave lady who, despite her health problems, never gave up on anything and achieved many of her life's goals. In December 2006 she was able to travel to Ethiopia, and in doing so, was able to complete a life long goal of traveling to 100 countries. From the mid 1980's to the mid 1990's Marilyn had more than 10 years of great times on Lake Powell. Each year she would plan trip after trip with family and friends on the family houseboat, the Kahlua Kruiser, at Bullfrog. She managed to travel in every Lake Powell Canyon from Glen Canyon Dam north to Cataract Canyon. In 1986 she managed to spend more than 44 days on Lake Powell. She claimed it was not enough. In the 1990's Marilyn joined SCI (Safari Club International) as a life member. She had always been an avid outdoors person and began in earnest big game safari hunting around the world. She hunted throughout the United States, Mexico, Canada, South America, Europe, Asia, South Pacific and her favorite place, Africa. In Africa she hunted in eight countries and succeeded in taking more than 100 African species including the Big Five (Lion, Leopard, Cape Buffalo, Rhino and Elephant). In 2003 Marilyn was presented with the most prestigious hunting award a woman can receive, the Diana Award. At the time she was only the 9th woman in the world to receive this award. In 2006 she earned SCI's Crowning Achievement Award. On Feb. 21, 2007 she was notified that she would receive an even higher accolade, SCI's World Hunting Award Ring. In receiving this award she was to be only the 2nd woman in the world to receive both the Diana Award and World Hunting Award Ring. On Saturday, March 10, 2007 Marilyn went to her last hunting convention and was presented Utah SCI Chapter's outstanding member award. She had served on the Utah Chapter SCI Board of Directors for more than eight years. She loved Arizona and was also a member of SCI's Phoenix Chapter. Marilyn was devoted to her family, friends and her two dogs, Affie and Tara. She was always a very friendly, spirited woman who made friends easily and charmed them with her beauty, which she had both on the inside and outside. She will be missed by all whose lives she touched. Marilyn is survived by her husband, Ben and sons Eddie Leon, Jr., Tucson and Dan Leon Seegmiller (Janie), Salt Lake City; step daughter Tina (Dave) Seastrand, Salt Lake City; two granddaughters Sara and Elizabeth Seegmiller; nine step-grandchildren and many cousins. Special thanks go out to all those who provided thoughts, prayers and support to Marilyn and her family over the past years. A memorial service will be held for Marilyn at the Larkin Mortuary, 260 East South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah on Sat., March 24th, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. Friends may call at the mortuary one hour prior to the service. Interment will be at the Marysvale City Cemetery in Piute County. In lieu of flowers Marilyn asked that donations be made in her name to Safari Club International Foundation, 4800 West Gates Pass Road, Tucson Arizona 85745.