SEYMOUR - Ronald Arthur Seymour passed Thursday afternoon, July 12, 2012 after battling an extended illness and from complication derived from a recent fall. At age 82 he was a man full of life, compassion and genuine personality. He is loved and missed by his family and will always be remembered as a man of warmth and generosity.
His years as a youth were framed by his experience of WWII and his unique location in history in the Surrey Countryside just outside of the London metropolitan area. Ron vividly recalled stories of skies filled with allied bombers, or German doodle-bug bombs dropping from the sky. He remembered the American and Canadian soldiers and witnessed the long train of vehicles making their way to the coast of England for the D-Day invasion. The Seymour children would often sit for hours to hear their parents tell stories of war, victory, friendship, family and sometimes sorrow and anguish as only the greatest generation could tell.
In the period immediately following the war, Ron served honorably in the Royal Army leading an artillery gun crew in the Jordanian desert. He returned home from the service to build his career in post-war English economy.
Through common friends and the fact that he was a good ballroom dancer, Ron met his wife, Elizabeth, at a local dance one evening in Guildford. She caught his eye and it was literally love at first sight. He often reminisced about his lucky day and anyone who knew him likely knows the story of the "Polish girl in the Blue Dress." They remained married for 57 years until Elizabeth passed in 2009.
Ron and Elizabeth along with their first son emigrated from England in the late 1950's, settling first in Canada and eventually the United States. The settled in the Polish community in Chicago. They both became U.S. Citizens in the 1980's and appreciated the opportunity America had given them. Even though he was filled with an American patriotism and spirit, he was definitely an Englishman in many noticeable phrases and traits... and he loved his Guinness.
Ron worked extremely hard all his life and is responsible for the success his family enjoys. He provided not only for the family's basic needs but understood the value of education and sacrificed much so that his children could attend Catholic grade school. He worked his way through the ranks into supervisory positions and established a successful long term career and retirement from Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad. He was proud to be a railroader.
Ron loved his family and gave them God's blessing at every oppportunity. He never took enough credit for what he provided to his family but marveled at how successful his children and grandchildren were. It is obvious to his children that they learned from him and owe everything they now have to his sacrifice and values. He loved his daughters in law as if they were his daughters.
His family knows he is in God's care now, perhaps dancing with his beloved Elizabeth and reliving that moment when love stirred his heart and shaped their lives as a family. All should be so lucky to have a life as full as Ron's. His children take great pride in the work he accomplished on this earth.
Ron was predeceased by his loving wife, Elizabeth Slysz Seymour.
Survivors include two sons and daughters in law, Richard and Charleen Seymour of Fernandina Beach, FL and Christopher and Michele Seymour of Jacksonville, FL (he loved his daughters in law as if they were his own daughters); his grandchildren, Carl, Kevin, Janine and Billie-Lynn; and a great grandchild, Sarah.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be Celebrated at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, July 17, at St. Michael Catholic Church, 505 Broome St., Fernandina Beach, FL. Ron will be entombed alongside his wife in the Garden of Remembrance Mausoleum at Green Pine Cemetery. The family will receive friend from 7:00 until 8:00 p.m. Monday at Green Pine Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial donations be made to Community Hospice of N.E. Florida, 4114 Sunbeam Rd., Bldg. 100 Suite 101, Jacksonville, FL 32257.