Robert Michael "Rivermouth Mike" Seymour

Mike Seymour, 57, of Santa Cruz, CA, died of pneumonia May 21 at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz. He was born June 10, 1949, in Waco, TX.

Mike grew up and attended schools in Waco and in Hondo, NM. After working on his Grandmother Lucie's ranch in San Patricio, NM, he was married briefly and lived for a number of years in Austin, TX. Mike went on to spend much of his life as a professional land surveyor in New Mexico, Texas, and California. His top-notch surveying skills were highly prized by those needing accurate determination of distances and boundaries, particularly in rough terrain. He had excellent eyesight, unusual agility, amazing observational skills, and unwavering commitment to precise detail. His life-long affection for the outdoors helped Mike find beauty any place he went in mountains and deserts or on beaches and city streets. No matter where nature hid her gifts — including caves, treetops, and rivers — he was determined to discover them.

Mike was admired for his unsurpassed talent in finding fossils, precious stones, artifacts, and petroglyphs in locations throughout the West. He was a voracious reader and had a particular interest in U.S., Native American, and natural history. He loved good stories, practical jokes, and laughing with friends. Mike played the violin and enjoyed a wide variety of music, particularly rock and roll from the Sixties and Seventies. When the Summer of Love beckoned, he followed enthusiastically.

Mike's sculpted features and expressive face gave him a sideline career as an artists' model and he sat for several renowned painters, including Peter de la Fuente and Nancy Hise Lilly.

After moving to the Santa Cruz area in the 1990s, Mike became a passionate and outspoken advocate on behalf of the area's homeless or, as he preferred to call them, "people who just happen to make their homes on the streets or in their vehicles." For more than five years, while residing in his van on East and West Cliff Drives, Mike lived a full, active life and made many positive contributions to his community. "Rivermouth Mike," as he was known, befriended people of all kinds and ages, helping them in many ways. He took care of dogs whose owners were surfing, warned children about riptides, gave directions to tourists, broke up fistfights, counseled the lovelorn, guarded businesses, removed trash, collected driftwood, and planted native wildflowers. Mike was proud of his independence and cherished his freedom, defending the homeless in media interviews and at public forums. His sometimes gruff manner belied a big heart and life-long indulgence in random acts of kindness. Mike will be missed by all who knew him.

Survivors include his mother, Mollie Seymour, of Santa Fe, NM; brother, Mark Seymour, of Bangkok, Thailand; sisters Annie Muriel, of Lake Jackson, TX; Megan Vega, of Scottsbluff, NE; and Luci Kelly, of Salt Lake City, UT; cousins Lisa Enfield, of Santa Fe, NM; Eric Enfield, of Santa Fe, NM; Stuart Enfield, of Lamy, NM, Richard Mahler, of Silver City, NM; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, in-laws, and other family members. Mike was preceded in death by his father, Charles Matt Seymour; sister, Susan Seymour Adams; grandmother, Lucie Yeaman; uncle, Robert Enfield; and other relatives.

Following cremation, Mike's ashes will be scattered over the Pacific Ocean off Santa Cruz and in the backcountry of New Mexico, two places he dearly loved.

An informal memorial gathering of friends and family will take place in Santa Cruz on "Mike's beach" — a.k.a. Seabright/Castle Beach — this Friday night, May 25, at 8 p.m. A second memorial will be held in Santa Fe at a time and place to be announced.

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