Eleanor Seger Wight

May 15, 1923 - Oct. 22, 2007

Eleanor Seger Wight died in her sleep during the night of Oct. 22 after a long illness. Born on May 15, 1923, in Redford, Mich., she graduated from Redford High School in 1941. Elly attended Hillsdale College in southern Michigan, and began a degree in home economics. During her freshman year, she met her future husband, Howard Morgan Wight, while at an intramural football game in which they each held the down markers. By the end of the game, she was helping Howard hold his down marker while someone else had taken over the duty of holding hers. Elly and Howard were inseparable from then on. They married in 1945 and traveled together to Howard's various Army Air Corps postings while he was being trained as a pilot. Elly eventually completed her degree in 1960. After World War II, Elly and Howard lived in a variety of places. Howard finished his college degree in Corvallis at Oregon State University. From there they went to Pennsylvania where Howard earned a master's degree at Penn State University. From then on they lived in a variety of locations including Columbia, Mo., and Silver Spring, Md., ultimately moving back to Corvallis, where Howard taught wildlife biology at OSU.

While at Hillsdale College Eleanor joined Pi Beta Phi sorority. During her 31 years in Oregon she was an active member of PEO and the Assistance League of Corvallis. She was the general editor of two of the Assistance League's cookbooks, and was herself an excellent and adventurous cook, having studied at La Varenne in Paris as well as a number of other cooking schools in the Willamette valley.

Elly was a lifelong learner, a voracious reader, and curious about many subjects. In addition to cooking, she had a famous garden, was a skilled seamstress, and tireless walker. She traveled widely throughout Europe after her retirement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service research station in Corvallis.

In 2005, Elly moved to McKinleyville, Calif., to be closer to family.

She is survived by her daughter, Susan and her husband David Jackson; her son, Thomas; her son, Steven and his wife Karol; and was a loving grandmother to Steven's children, Alexander, Elinor and Aidan Wight. She is survived by her brothers, Ralph and Bob Seger. She was preceded in death by her husband, Howard M. Wight in 1975, and sister Dorothy.

Her family extends warm thanks to the staff and residents of Timber Ridge, McKinleyville, for their loving friendships and skilled care, Hospice of Humboldt and Dr. Gary Garcia for their sympathetic care of Elly in her last few years. At Eleanor's request, no services will be held.