NORMAN P. SEAGRAVE

SEAGRAVE--Norman P., a decorated World War II veteran and aviation lawyer who set national swimming records into his 90s, died August 24 in Santa Fe, NM. He was 97. He was the loving husband of Mary (Ryan), who died in March, and the adored and adoring father of four daughters. Warm-hearted, civic-minded, witty and exuberant, he lived a full and fascinating life. As a young Army officer commanding American and British troops in North Africa, he received both the Bronze Star and membership in the Order of the British Empire, and eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. As international law counsel for Pan American World Airways, he negotiated the first flights between New York and Moscow at the height of the Cold War. A lifelong Democrat, he served six terms on the Board of Selectmen for the town of Darien, CT. Born January 31, 1916, in Uxbridge, MA, he graduated in 1937 from Bowdoin College, earned his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1940. After the war, he joined the State Department, where he met and married his wife. They lived in Washington and Montreal before he was named civil air attache to the U.S. embassy in Rome. They moved to Darien in 1954 when he joined Pan Am, then moved to Brunswick, Maine after his retirement. He was member of the Council on Foreign Relations and taught international law at Franklin Pierce Law Center. A U.S. Masters swimmer, he was on three relay teams that set All-American records, most recently when he was 92. Mr. Seagrave is survived by his daughters and their husbands: Anne and Reese Fullerton of Santa Fe, NM, Molly and Walter Channing of Bridgehampton, NY, Jane Seagrave and John Kennedy of Martha's Vineyard, MA, Martha Seagrave and Kurt Kaffenberger of Burlington, VT; and 10 grandchildren. A memorial service is planned for Friday, October 4 at 2:30pm at the First Parish Church in Brunswick, Maine. Memorial donations may be made to the Norman P. Seagrave Scholarship Fund, c/o Peter G. Collias, P.O. Box 2519, Fall River, MA 02722.