Robert Atkinson Seeley
May 6, 1943——October 4, 2024
Robert Atkinson Seeley was a Quaker and peace activist, a member of Plymouth Monthly Meeting when he was younger and then a member of Germantown Monthly Meeting for most of his adult life. He served on many Meeting committees that affirmed his commitment to peace and social concerns. He is survived by his wife of fifty-six years, Ruth A. Seeley, his daughter Laura J. Seeley and his brother and sister-in-law, Martin and Judith Ward.
Bob was born in Germantown then spent his younger years at first in Germantown, moving with his parents and sister to Andorra. He graduated from Friends Select School in Philadelphia and then attended Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana where he studied Philosophy which continued to be a passion for him throughout his life. During his time in college, he traveled with a group to Washington DC to participate in the March on Washington in 1963, where he joined thousands of others to fight for Civil Rights.
After graduating college in the midst of the Vietnam War, Bob filed as a Conscientious Objector and served alternative service in Sumter, South Carolina with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) program, the Voluntary International Service Assignments. He worked for two years in Sumter, living and working in the community. While he was there, he worked with daycare centers, supported a local church and coached a baseball team for teenagers. His experiences in Sumter greatly influenced his approach to life and his thoughts on being an engaged and active member of a community.
When Bob returned from Sumter in 1968, he decided to continue his work for peace by attending the Tripartite trip which brought young people together from the United Kingdom, the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) through the work of the Friends Service Council, AFSC and the Committee of Youth Organizations of the USSR. In that year, the trip was held in the Soviet Union and it was there that Bob met Ruth Ward, a Quaker from Newcastle upon Tyne who was leading the British delegation. This trip had a tremendous influence on Bob’s life as his pursuit for peace and love led him to marry Ruth later that year at Newcastle upon Tyne Meeting in northern England. After a brief honeymoon in England, Ruth and Bob returned to Philadelphia to begin their lives as a young married couple.
Back in Philadelphia, Bob began working for the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors (CCCO), an organization where he was able to pursue his passions for both peace and for writing. He began work as a typist, became a draft counselor for counselees, and then a trainer for draft counselors on the East Coast. He was an expert on the Selective Service law and was often consulted by lawyers about the rights of individuals who had been drafted. Bob and Ruth would travel together in their Volkswagon Bug to train volunteer draft counselors in many places, including Binghamton NY, Boston MA, and Gettysburg PA. They even sometimes invited young draftees into their home if they needed a place to stay, including one who needed support before he turned himself in to the military and one who gave Bob a pair of his army boots after leaving military service. Bob used the boots for years every time that it snowed in Philadelphia!
One of Bob’s passions in life was writing, which he pursued both at CCCO where he wrote for his work and also in his private life. At CCCO, he was a writer and editor for News Notes for years, wrote Advice for Conscientious Objectors in the Armed Forces, the Draft Counselor’s Manual, the Handbook for Conscientious Objectors and finally the Handbook of Nonviolence including Aldous Huxley’s Encyclopedia of Pacifism. In addition to News Notes, he wrote for the Friends Journal, the Pacifist Bulletin, the Bulletin of the Peace Studies Institute, the Progressive and Confrontation: A Literary Journal of Long Island University. In his own time, he wrote a Sherlock Holmes novel called The Citadel of Gold which he was immensely proud of, but never published. Bob loved reading and editing as much as he did writing and always admired good writing. His aim in all of his work was to explore complex situations and concepts, but present them in ways that all readers could understand.
When Bob began his career, all documents were typewritten and in college he earned money typing up papers for students. Bob always embraced new technology as it came, working on a type-setting machine and getting into computers early because he saw the benefits of computerized desk-top publishing. What he had been doing by hand on large mock-up boards that had to be transported to the printer could now be accomplished on a computer at a desk! As always, it was the writing that was important to Bob and the messages that it contained, but he embraced the technology that helped him to write and publish more easily.
Outside of his career, Bob enjoyed many pursuits including playing acoustic blues guitar for many years. He was a passionate cook who loved to shop at the Reading Terminal and turn his purchases into gourmet meals for his family. He enjoyed reading, walking around Germantown, taking care of many cats over the years and rooting for the Phillies through thick and thin. Bob loved to decorate for the seasons, especially in the porch of the house that he shared with Ruth, where he made sure that the decorative lights were on each night to brighten up the neighborhood. In addition to their epic trip to the USSR in 1968, Bob and Ruth went on further travels to the United Kingdom, France and Denmark. As tourists, they enjoyed hiking, hill walking and exploring cities on foot.
Bob was an avid urbanist and had a particular interest in the use of public space and how humans interact with their environment, including thinking about the walkability score of a house, where green spaces were available, affordable housing and many other concerns of urban living. With this in mind, he joined the Friends of Vernon Park to help maintain the biggest green space near his house and make it available and welcoming to all people. He worked with the group for many years, helping with the Breaking Bread project, Love Your Park Day and the annual Bazaar. One of Bob’s favorite authors on the subject of urbanism was Jane Jacobs and he helped to organize Jane’s Walks through his group, Walk Germantown. He would plan these walks by carefully choosing a route, reaching out to people who knew about the local architecture and history and then hold a free walk for everyone who wanted to join. Bob’s walks were always interesting and varied, he took great care to make sure that everyone who wanted to share information or memories had the opportunity.
Bob was guided by his inherent belief in the good of all people. He always saw the positive side of situations and wanted the best outcomes, whether it was improving a local park or trying to pursue dreams of world peace. He lived out his beliefs, giving back to the community and helping to make the world a better place for everyone.
Please join us for a Memorial Meeting to remember Bob on Saturday, November 16th at 2pm to be held at Germantown Monthly Meeting, 47 West Coulter Street, Philadelphia PA 19144. There will be a zoom option.
Donations in Bob’s memory may be given to the Friends of Vernon Park to help continue the work of maintaining this green space that is such a vital part of Germantown, a park that meant so much to him. Donations can be made at: https://friendsofvernonpark.org/