James Seidelmann:
CLASS OF 1959
Austin High SchoolClass of 1959
Chicago, IL
University of Illinois - ArchitectureClass of 1967
Urbana, IL
Wilbur Wright CollegeClass of 1961
Chicago, IL
Nobel Elementary SchoolClass of 1955
Chicago, IL
James's Story
Updated 10/24/2008
After graduation I attended Wright Jr. College for two years and then transfered to the University of Illinois, seeking a degree in architecture (which was also my focus in high school). After a semester of hard partying, lots of sports, etc., and not enough studying, I pushed my draft number up to the top and entered the Army in September of 1961. I taught electric power generation at the Army Corps of Engineers School at Fort Belvoir, VA until I completed my tour of duty and was discharged in September of 1963.
Some of the events that occurred while I was in the Army was being on "24 hour call' during the Cuban Missle Crisis in support of potential Nike missle firing bases, teaching some of the earliest advisers going over to Viet Nam, and supporting (and witnessing) several above and below ground nuclear blast tests at the Nevada Test Site in Mercury, Nevada (about an hours drive NW of Las Vegas).
After my discharge I returned to the U of I and received my BA in architecture, graduating in June of 1967. After graduation I started working for the City of Chicago in their Bureau of Architecture for over 21 years, and then worked for three other companies, retiring from the practice of architecture in June, 2005.
In October 1967 I married my wife Toni (Antoinette) who was a teacher in the Chicago Public Schools system for many years. Our first daughter Jennifer was born in 1973, and our second daughter Elizabeth was born in 1978.
After living in Oak Park, IL for over 31 years (just four houses down from the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio) and approx. 10 days after our second daughters wedding we sold our house and are now living at Smith Mountain Lake (which is near Roanoke, VA) and enjoying our retirement. I retired in June 2005 and Toni in June 2006. I keep my architectural license in Virginia active but am not currently practicing. I prefer gardening, reading, photography, kayaking, traveling, etc., to working.
I recently discovered three (second) cousins (on my mothers side) and two first cousins (of my mother) living in Germany and Italy and we attended a family reunion near Stuttgart in 2006 with over 30 people in at...Expand for more
tendance. Our two girls and their husbands were also able to attend the reunion which was wonderful. We have been back to visit several times since. They are great people and have even visited us here in Virginia.
We have three grandchildren. Jenny has a 7 year old boy, and Elizabeth has a 5 year old boy and a 3 year old girl (on Halloween).
Toni and I enjoy the outdoors and traveling. Our three most recent adventures were (1) observing grizzly bears (a mom and two cubs came within 5 feet of us) at a camp in Alaska last summer, (2) observing polar bears waiting for the ice to form in Churchill, Manitoba (on Hudson Bay) last Nov., and (3) spending 3 weeks on 5 islands in Hawaii enjoying the sights, snorleling, and whale watching in February, 2008.
The 2008 reunion was a fun time and I was able to touch base with several old friends. I'm hoping to be able to attend our next reunion in 2011.
After several years of heart and liver health issues our oldest daughter Jennifer received a new liver transplant on August 1, 2009 and was doing well in her recovery and the doctors were trying to get her healthy enough to discharge her when her body was attacked by a virulent infection and she died on August 31, 2009. A devastating blow to all of us (family and friends). Toni and I have since learned from many of our friends/acquaintances that they too had suffered the loss of a child (infant-teen or adult). It's a loss that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.
For my 75th birthday (2016) I decided to go sky-diving and my daughter and son-in-law decided to join me. It was a great experience but was over far too quickly. I'd recommend it to anyone.
In the summer of 2017 we took our family on an Alaskan vacation trip, including one week in the Denali area and one week cruising from Whittier to Vancouver, as it was to be our 50th wedding anniversary in October.
This year we will be in Costa Rica For over two weeks, hiking, birding, white water rafting, and zip-lining. Later in the year we will be joining friends from Australia in Alaska (our fifth time; love it) then on to Vancouver and the Canadian Rockies before returning to Virginia.
Life has been good to me.
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