Arthur Selin

Arthur Selin

February 10, 1935 - January 18, 2022

Arthur Selin passed away on January 18th at the age of 86. He was born to Uno and Mary Selin in Quincy, Massachusetts. His parents were immigrants from Finland and Art did not speak English until he started elementary school. He loved the outdoors and always dreamed as a kid of coming west to explore and live. He graduated from Quincy High School and received a degree in Forestry from the University of Massachusetts in 1956. During this time he also worked as a firefighter on the Lassen National Forest in California and ran fire crews composed of San Quentin and other CDC inmates. He then served in the Army from 1957 to 1959 as an Armor Intelligence Specialist. Art was stationed in Georgia and then Germany where he liked to note that he met another soldier in his division who was known as Elvis. His family was assured he did not attempt to provide music lessons to this fellow soldier.

After an honorable discharge from the Army, Art started his Forest Service career on the Inyo National Forest, living in Lone Pine and Lee Vining, California. He then relocated to Mammoth Lakes, California where he became an avid skier at Mammoth Mountain. One day on the slopes he skied into the solo skier line at the chairlift and was paired up on the lift with Maire (Maura) Flood. That initial meeting blossomed into love and they were married on April 8, 1961.

In 1966, Art was transferred to Twin Falls where he worked on the Sawtooth National Forest. Art loved Idaho so much he decided to stay permanently, eventually completing his Forest Service career at the Sawtooth National Recreation Area headquarters in Ketchum. One of his joys was to meet forest visitors from all over the world and entertain them with his talks about the forest.

Art had a lifelong passion for history and played a key role in the establishment and continuation of the Sawtooth Interpretive and Historical Association and was a member of the Idaho Geographical Names Advisory Council. He was a great writer and penned many poems and short stories, some of which were published in national magazines and comics when he was younger. He enjoyed public speaking and was a past member of Toastmasters. Art was a lifelong fan of the Boston Red Sox.

Art also liked being a collector. Starting with old bottles and glass found in nature, he moved on to stamps and coins and finally settled on his love of books Art primarily collected antiquarian and rare books focusing on the West. After retiring from the Forest Service, Art was able to turn his hobby into a business and would travel to festivals and antique fairs happily talking with customers and occasionally selling them books. He was also a fixture down at the canyon close to the Perrine bridge going for walks and being a BASE jumper watcher for many years, befriending others from around the world, learning their backstories, and where they were from.

Art is survived by Maire, his wife of 60 years, and their sons: Keith, Gary, and Sean.

The family had a private funeral Mass celebrated by priest son Father Gary. They wish to thank the nurses and staff at Serenity Transitional Care for their care during Arthur's final days.