Kathryn “Katy” Seidel, age 98, of Ames, Iowa, passed away Sunday, April 3, 2022, at Northcrest Community in Ames.
Private memorial services will be held at a later date.
Katy was born July 24, 1923, in Kansas City, Missouri, the daughter of James and Helen (Monroe) Bell. She grew up a “P.K.” (preacher’s kid), moving to several states but living always in the Midwest.
She graduated from Burnside (Iowa) High School in 1941 and from Iowa State College in December 1944, with a degree in Home Economics Education.
After teaching home economics in Essex, Iowa, for one semester, Katy was united in marriage to Harris Seidel on June 9, 1945, in Canton, South Dakota. They were blessed with four daughters, Judy, Susan, Ann, and Jean, and one son, Dean.
Katy used her home economics education to supervise a home, raise the children, do lots of sewing, and help educate other people’s children through many years as a Sunday School teacher and Girl Scout leader. She also taught First Aid for 26 years and was a docent at the Farm House Museum on the ISU campus for 22 years (from 1979 through 2001).
Katy and Harris lived six years in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, moving to Ames on July 1, 1951. In 1989, they moved to Northcrest Retirement Community, where they have lived since.
Katy considered her home and family the most important contribution to her life. The children moved away. She and her husband did things together in the Ames community and enjoyed traveling to many faraway places, as well as places closer to home.
She was a lifetime member of the Girl Scouts of the USA and was active in the First Baptist Church of Ames and her life reflected a quiet, but enduring faith.
Katy is survived by her husband of almost 77 years, Harris Seidel of Ames; four daughters, Judy (Harold) Melanson of Minneapolis, MN, Susan Zawacky of Pittsburgh, PA, Ann (Jim) Hinds of Keene, NH, Jean (Greg) Wallace of Saint Albans, WV, and a special daughter-in-law, Barbara Seidel of Concord, NC; two grandchildren; and a sister, Mary Bell of DeKalb, IL.
She was preceded in death by her parents; an infant sister; son, Dean Seidel; and brother, Monroe Bell.