Robert John "Jack" Seas Jr.

Robert John "Jack" Seas, Jr. Robert John "Jack" Seas, Jr. of Seabrook, South Carolina, died peacefully in his home on Monday, May 4, 2015. He was 82. Jack was born on November 1, 1932, in Cleveland, Ohio. At the age of five, he moved with his family to Baldwin, Long Island, where he found a lifelong love for coastal marshes, boats and the sea. Jack worked in a Pittsburgh steel mill to put himself through Carnegie Tech, where he earned an electrical engineering degree and was voted by campus coeds as "King of Hearts" in his senior year. After graduating, Jack began a life of adventure and international travel. He enlisted in the United States Navy Officer Candidate School, became a Frogman and learned underwater demolitions. After completing his term in the Navy, Jack sailed throughout the Caribbean for six months with friends before landing in a Cuban jail on suspicion of gun smuggling during the Castro revolution in the late 50s. His mother enjoyed learning of this incident on the evening news broadcast. He spoke fondly of reading the only books on board (Shakespeare's Complete Works) during the night watch. When he hit land again, Jack took a job with the U.S. Patent Office as a patent examiner (Einstein's starting job, he always noted) and attended night school at George Washington University to earn his law degree. Jack was among the founding partners of the Washington, D.C. law firm, Sughrue Mion, where he worked until his retirement in 2002. As head of the International Patent Department at Sughrue Mion, Jack enjoyed extensive travel throughout Europe, Asia and South America. In 1976, he moved the family to Tokyo, Japan, for a year to help run Sughrue Mion's Tokyo office. Jack was a master puzzler, and enjoyed solving crossword, sudoku, bridge and scrambled word puzzles.  His law partners appreciated his gifts as a wordsmith and often turned to him for just the right turn of phrase. He continued his daily ritual of solving all puzzle types until his passing. In 1960, Jack married Cynthia "Cindy" Phelps and together they had two children, Sandra Elizabeth and Robert John. The family resided in Severna Park, Maryland and enjoyed sharing summer vacations in Rehobeth Beach, Delaware with the Veatch and Berliner families. On Valentine's Day in 1998, Jack married Phyllis Kaupp ("PK"). After Jack retired, he and PK built their dream home in Bull Point Plantation overlooking the low country salt marsh of Beaufort, South Carolina. In retirement, Jack volunteered to give back to the Beaufort community. He joined the Friends of the Library organization and worked every month delivering food to those in need through Second Helpings with team partner, Bob DeAlexandris. Jack also worked behind the scenes to help with the Beaufort Art Association's Annual Spring Art Exhibit and Sale. And he quietly made significant contributions to local charities, including the Boys and Girls Club, Salvation Army and the Beaufort Performing Arts Center. He also enjoyed the variety of continuing education opportunities at OLLI. Jack is survived by his wife Phyllis Kaupp-Seas of Seabrook; his daughter Sandra Percario of Concord, California; his son Robert Seas of Billings, Montana; and his grandchildren Christina Percario, Trey Percario, Taylor Seas and Brooklyn Seas. Jack was an exceptionally bright, kind and humble man who will be deeply missed by all who knew him. He was above all, a true gentleman. A memorial service will be held Thursday, May 7, 2015 at 5 p.m. at Anderson Funeral Home in Beaufort.