Lillian M. Seymour

Lillian Seymour-Our Beloved Mother... Good Morning. Thank you Father George for presiding over this beautiful ceremony and thank you all for being here and celebrating the life of our Mother. Most of you are probably not aware of this, but in addition to being an outstanding nurse and phenomenal mother, our Mother was a beauty queen. I can't be specific but someone once told me that my Mother was Prom Queen at her high school dance. Somewhere, there is a picture of her in here full length white gown looking every bit the '50s Hollywood Starlet. And, believe me, she was very attractive. I realize this sounds a bit vague; but that is the point. My Mother would never tell you about how she was chosen as the Prom Queen. She was far too modest. In fact, I can never recall my Mother ever, even remotely considering herself as the focal point; a center of attention. She never once cited any of her accomplishments. She never talked about growing up without a father. She never bored anyone with her financial struggles through nursing school and achieving her RN. She never boasted of what a highly regarded nurse she was at Kingston Hospital where she returned to work to help support her family. Our Mother never really spoke of the burden of completing the task of successfully raising a family, single-handedly after my Father passed over 30 years ago. Finally, our Mother did not rest any laurels on the fact that she was one of the most capable and beloved school nurses in the history of the local school system. We knew this to be true because we attended her retirement party and witnessed the incredible outpouring of love and respect from her peers. You see, our Mother was a beauty queen from the inside out. It was never about her. Her focus was always on someone else, and never something else. Her concerns, to a fault, always rested with her children and her grandchildren. I'm pretty certain that if you look up the word Mother in the dictionary, you will see a picture of my Mother. Our Mother was as selfless as a Mother could be. This is what made my Mother happy, along with a class of wine and an occasional cigarette. In fact, I believe that our Mother's very existence depended on the challenges of her children and grandchildren. Frankly, without this, she did not seem to have that singular sense of family purpose. And now, her work here is done and she has moved on to join our Father, no doubt to make up for so much lost time. Mother, we love you, and we selfishly miss you. We will cherish and celebrate your memory forever here and we will see you in the after. Thank you all again for being here. -------------------------------- Lillian M. Seymour of Holland Dr., West Hurley died Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at home. She was 77. She was born in Forest City, PA the daughter of the late Raymond and Ann Reisinger Meddleton. Mrs. Seymour graduated from Scranton State Hospital School of Nursing as a Registered Nurse. She was employed at Kingston Hospital and also as a school nurse at West Hurley Elementary School. She was a parishioner of St. John's Church in Holly Hills. Her husband, Joseph Seymour died May 18, 1979. Surviving are two daughters, Allison Palmer and her husband David of West Hurley, Susan Seymour and her husband Robert Ryan of Springfield, VT; three sons, Joseph Seymour and his wife Diana of Hillsdale, NJ; Christopher Seymour, MD and his wife Carmela of Cedar Grove, NJ and Gregory Seymour, MD and his wife Patricia of Westmoreland, NH and her brother, Raymond Meddleton and his wife Jean of Manville, NJ. Nine grandchildren, Amy Coonradt, Regina Coonradt, Gillian Palmer, Michael Palmer, Joseph Seymour, James Seymour, Christopher Seymour, Livia Seymour, Giuliana Seymour and a niece and nephew also survive. Reposing at the Simpson-Gaus Funeral Home, 411 Albany Ave., Kingston on Friday from 2 - 4 & 7 - 9 PM. The funeral procession will form at the funeral home on Saturday at 8:45 AM and process to St. John's Church, Holly Hills for a 10:00 AM funeral Mass. Cremation will follow in Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery. Interment will be in St. Mary's Cemetery at a later date.