George Benham Seligman

Dear Karen, Barbara, Bob, Scott, Sarah, Rachel, Ben and John,
Please accept my deepest condolences on the loss of your parents. I was a student of your father, who served as my Ph.D. advisor at Yale. I was a graduate student at Yale 1973-1977, took my first course in Lie algebras from him, and thought he would be the best advisor for me. Luckily for me, he accepted me as his student and guided me to a successful completion of my degree. He was always very kind and patient, expressing himself carefully with hand gestures as if he were shaping the mathematical concepts in the air. I visited your parents' house a few times and was always graciously welcomed by them both. Every time I later visited Yale I was met with great friendship by George, including a special conference in his honor with talks by his many Ph.D. students. On one visit he introduced me to Igor Frenkel, who later became a collaborator for my most important papers. In every way George was the most important influence on my mathematical career, and I will always be proud to be one of his students. I wish I had kept in touch more over the years, but even when he was in his 90's he answered my email promptly with personal news about himself and his family. I'm very sorry to hear that he passed away in April, not long after Irene passed away. May his memory be a blessing for you all.
Sincerely yours, Alex Feingold

Karen, your dad was really extraordinary, and I feel blessed that I was able to spend a tiny bit of time with both your parents while we were at Yale. Sending much love to you and Barbara.

I remember George and Irene quite fondly from the years I was a Gibbs INstructor at Yale (1988-90)--Monty McGovern

Dear Karen, Barbara, Bob, Scott, Sarah, Rachel, Ben and John I send you my sincerest condolences. Your heart soon will be filled with wonderful memories of joyful times together as you celebrate a life well lived. I will keep your parents deep in my heart.

Dear Barbara, Bob, Karen, Scott, Sarah, Rachel, Ben and John,

Thank you for sharing this wonderful story of your father's life. Not only a great professional life but also a marriage for the ages. You must miss him dearly but we hope that together you collect and share all the good memories of a good life, rather of two good lives. It is hard to lose father and mother so soon after another, so we wish you all lots of strengths in the coming months.

Very best wishes and let us know if we can help in any way.

Dorien and Willem

Dear Barbara, Bob, Rachel and Ben and family,
This is such a beautiful obituary. Although I never met George, I feel as if I knew him through the many stories you shared over the nearly 25+ years we've known one another. What a incredibly brilliant and talented man he was - keeping his mind engaged and love for his family strong for almost 97 years.
Losing both parents in less than a year is so challenging. I hope you find peace and strength in your memories of him.

Barbara,
Although I never had the opportunity to meet your father, I can only imagine the profound impact he must have had on your life and the lives of those around him. I can see the strength and resilience you possess, qualities that I'm sure he instilled in you. May his legacy live on through the love and fond memories he leaves behind. Viresh

What a wonderful tribute to your father... it was a life well lived... my sincerest condolences to you Karen, and your family.