John Thomas Seaman Jr.

1932 - 2024

John Thomas Seaman Jr. passed away in Valparaiso, Indiana with family by his side on Thursday, March 28, 2024. John is survived by his loving sons: John (Pam) of Hebron, IN; Ken (Anne) of Ann Arbor, MI; Phil (Syd Ogborn) of Los Gatos, CA, and Rich (Ruth) of Chesterton, IN. He also leaves behind brother Mark (Bonnie), sister Deborah Turner, and ten grandchildren: Annie (Ted) Pagonis; Jack (Cassie), Sarah, Kathryn, Colin, Alec, Andrew, Thomas, Ryan, Nathan Seaman; and one great-grandchild, John Thomas Seaman V. John was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 67 years, Barbara Wahls Seaman; daughter Marcia; parents; and sister Eleanor Crump.

John was born in 1932 in Chicago to John T. Sr. (Jack) and Arline Keuper Seaman and spent his early years in the Beverly neighborhood. At Morgan Park High School in Chicago, he met and dated Barbara Wahls. As they each left for college, they lost touch for a few years. John attended Kenyon College on a full scholarship and graduated in 1954. While on summer break from Miami University (Ohio), Barbara sent John a postcard, they reconnected, and married on June 19, 1955. They were inseparable until her death in 2022.

After their marriage, the couple moved to Dunbar, West Virginia where John served in the U.S. Air Force and they had their first child, Marcia. Within a year, the young family moved to Gary, IN. John started working at US Steel as a blast furnace foreman. Sons John and Ken soon followed. Tragically, four-year old daughter Marcia became ill and passed away in 1961.

Eventually, the couple had two more sons: Phil and Rich. They moved to Crown Point, IN where they lived for 27 years. John changed jobs to work for Interlake Steel for five years as General Superintendent of the blast furnace area. In 1978 he changed careers to work for Hickman, Williams & Company in Oak Brook, Illinois. He enjoyed working there and made many life-long friends. John retired in 1997 as the Executive Vice President for the company.

John was active in his community throughout his life. In Crown Point, he was on the Planning Commission for over a decade and volunteered on the Hub Pool corporation that fundraised to build the pool. He had multi-decade involvement with Kenyon's alumni group. In both retirement locations, he joined the residents' management groups, rising to president for each.

Outside of work, Barbara and John enjoyed skiing, sailing, opera, and adventure traveling around the world. After becoming empty nesters, Barbara and John moved to Illinois, where they lived in Oak Brook, Bartlett, Geneva, and Barrington. They spent the winter months in Peoria, Arizona, where they enjoyed golfing, hiking, swimming and collecting Native American weavings. John and Barb spent most of their last ten years living in The Garlands of Barrington, where they were active in the theater troupe and book clubs.

John was a kind, generous, and ever-positive man who lived his life with gratitude and joy. He will be missed by all of his family and friends. A private celebration of life was held.