Sedley Aileen Josserand

September 9, 1953 - May 20, 2025

Ocean Springs, Mississippi - Sedley Aileen Josserand, 71, of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, died of metastatic breast cancer at her home in May 2025. She is survived by her husband and racing sherpa, Craig S. Echt, her adoring daughter, Dana J. Echt whom she loved to the moon and back, her son-in-law Christopher Tobin, brother Tom Josserand, and mother Carolina "Nona" Josserand. Her father, Richard Josserand of Tucson, Arizona, preceded her in death in October 2005,.

Sedley was born in San Diego, California. There she graduated from Academy of Our Lady of Peace, and went on to earn a BA degree in Biology from University of California, Riverside. She completed course work in the Pest Management Program in the College of Agriculture at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. As a lab technician, she pursued graduate studies in Genetics, Statistics and Computer Sciences at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

During the 70's she was active in the women's rights movement and remained a feminist throughout her life.

Her graduate work continued as a PhD candidate in the Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences, University of Wyoming, Laramie with dissertation research titled, "The Relationship between Internal Light Gradients Leaf Anatomy and Photosynthesis in Medicago sativa Leaves". This original research developed the use of fiber optic microprobes to measure light properties inside individual leaf cells.

After a brief stint as a laboratory technician at the USDA Forest Service lab in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, the family moved to Rotorua, New Zealand, where she worked as a Genotyping Technician at The New Zealand Forest Research Institute, a Crown Research Institute, now called Scion.

On moving back to the States, Sedley took up employment as a Biological Laboratory Technician with the USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Saucier, Mississippi, from which she retired after 16 years. Over her research career Sedley authored or co-authored 18 peer-reviewed science publications and worked with Craig, also a Forest Service scientist, on developing molecular genetic markers for conifer trees and endangered species.

Sedley was an athlete. Over the past 10 years, according to her Garmin watch, she swam 1,750 miles and ran 8,426 miles for training and competitions. She was known throughout the neighborhood as that running lady, always training for the next race, and usually followed by Craig on a bicycle. During her time in Ocean Springs, Sedley competed in 69 road races and holds 13 Mississippi state records for females her age. She competed in swimming and running at the 2017 National Senior Games, completed an olympic-length triathlon, a 70.3 mile triathlon, one half-marathon, and eight marathons, including two virtual and two in-person Boston Marathons. Her runs in Boston in 2023 and 2024 were while she was undergoing chemotherapy. That 2023 race was her proudest achievement and earned her a personal best time of 4:21:05. Because of that cherished memory, she wanted her ashes to be scattered in the coastal waters near Boston, close to where her in-laws hosted her and her family during their stays there.

Sedley was a sentimental softy on the inside, if perhaps perceived as a bit of a tough nut on the outside. Everyone who knew her knew that she was a model of determination when pursuing her goals.

Sedley loved all creatures, great and small. She raised eight cats and five dogs, all adopted, and ferried countless turtles across neighborhood roadways. She was especially fond of bears and always voted for a momma bear during Fat Bear Week. She knew her insects, having studied entomology in college and early career, and collected all things dragonfly. She was a fan of Doctor Who and owned a TARDIS-blue VW Beetle that she said was bigger on the inside. She will be remembered as a great baker; the Anglophile in her dreamed of being on the Great British Baking Show. During the Christmas holidays she would follow a family tradition by baking dozens of giant gingerbread men to give out to friends and family, a tradition that Dana now carries forward.

Her family gives heartfelt thanks for the care and comfort provided to Sedley over the years by the Southern Cancer Center in Mobile and the Gautier Physical Therapy Clinic. St. Joseph Hospice of Biloxi provided much needed support. We are deeply grateful for the remarkable respect demonstrated by Marshall Funeral Home, Biloxi.

Her last race is run and the world is a little less fun for it.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Sun Herald from Jun. 6 to Jun. 9, 2025.

Memories and Condolences
for Sedley Josserand

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6 Entries

Craig Echt, Dana Echt, Chris Tobin

Planted Trees

Eileen Weeks

Sent Sympathy Gifts including Trees

Dana Nelson

June 13, 2025

My sincerest condolences Craig and Dana. Sedley was a game changer for forest genetics research and the Forest Service, especially in helping to look after the most vulnerable tree species. She had remarkable patience and determination in developing genetic lab methods and quality data to support the ongoing work to conserve these species. As a fellow Gulf Coast Running Club runner, I admired Sedley´s dedication to personal fitness and her perseverance to meet the Boston Marathon qualifying standard and complete the race even while battling cancer. What an amazing and inspirational feat. Run and rest in peace Sedley. We will miss you.

Eileen Weeks

June 11, 2025

Sedley, and I have been friends since we were college roommates over 50 years ago. I spent that year working in a genetics lab only to discover that I did not want to work in a lab as a career. Oddly enough, Sedley was the one who fit that job well. Funny how things work out.

As I moved on, Sedley went on to do various research jobs. I remember traveling with her to Arizona for a new job & arriving on a weekend with checks and very little cash. Nobody in Arizona would accept a California check. We had a rather hungry weekend.

As the years moved on, we didn´t see or hear of each other very often, which is not unusual. We had different careers in different cities, but in the mid 90s, the Internet provided the opportunity to try and connect again. Fortunately, Sedley has an unusual name which made it easier to track her down. At first I wrote to Sedley in New Zealand and was told she had moved back to the United States. Fortunately, again, I found her on the Internet working for the department of forestry in Mississippi. She was very gracious and accepted my letter and wrote back. Over the course of the next 30 years we emailed, texted and even visited each other a few times in person. We weren´t what you call convenient local friends, but I´ve always enjoyed her lovely remarks, suggestions and good counsel as well as her great sense of humor. We had a lot of things in common. That is a rare gift.

I could never begin to be nearly as athletic as Sedley, but she inspired me to at least keep walking or hiking or riding my bike for health reasons if not competition. I was so proud of her running the Boston marathon twice.

After 50 years, I can honestly say I will never have another lifelong friend. I miss you and I´m grateful I got the chance to have spent some of my life with you. Goodbye old friend.

Rick

June 10, 2025

I will miss seeing Sedley out running the neighborhood. She was such an amazing person and an inspiration.

Susan

June 7, 2025

Sedley was an amazing friend and racing partner (even though she was miles ahead of me). My life was more fun just having her as my friend. I am so glad she got to run Boston, the first year she did it she was all smiles, she loved every one of those 26.3 miles. I will miss her always.

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