She was born March 20, 1934 in Greenville, Ohio to the late Leonard and Carolyn (Huber) Birt. In addition to her parents, Kay was preceded in death by her husband, Jack Seiler, whom she married March 23, 1959; one brother, Tom Birt; and one sister, Betty Swartwout.
Kay was very active in the community and served in leadership roles in many organizations. She was past-president of the Republican Women’s Club, the Business and Professional Women’s Club (BPW), Eastern Star, and Civitan to name a few. She also served on the Board of Trustees for Edison State Community College, organized her high school class luncheons (Greenville class of 1952) and volunteered as a Sunday school teacher and church camp leader at the First United Church of Christ in Greenville during her children’s earlier years.
Kay may be most widely known for her political achievements. She served Ohio’s 8th Congressional District for nearly two decades with her career ending in the office of Congressman John Boehner (former Speaker of the House). Prior to that, she also worked for Congressman’s Tom Kindness and Buzz Lukens. Whenever you were told to “call your local Congressman” or you needed help “cutting through the red tape”, odds are you spoke to Kay or one of her assistants. She provided help and guidance to the citizens of the district on everything from social security issues to emergency passports to IRS problems to White House tours….just to name a few. No problem was too large or too small.
Others may remember Kay from many years ago as the “Welcome Wagon Lady”. She greeted new people to the community with gifts and merchandise from local merchants. Others may also recall her working at the local Sears store. Wherever life’s journey took her, Kay left a mark with her smiling face, high energy, and positive attitude.
Kay is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Jenny and Jack Clark of Arcanum, Ohio; son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Erin Seiler of Springfield, Ohio; son and daughter-in-law, Mike and Cyndi Seiler of Key West, Florida; brother and sister-in-law, Wes and Kaye Birt of Summerville, South Carolina; grandchildren Katie Gabbard, Molly Clark, Dan Clark, Adam Seiler, Andrew Seiler and Aubree Smith; and new great-grandchild Isla.
The family will receive friends on Saturday August 3, 2019 from 11:00 AM until 2:00 PM in the Zechar Bailey Funeral Home Greenville, Ohio. Memorial services will begin at 2:00 PM with Pastor Terry Haworth officiating. Burial will follow in the Greenville Cemetery.
A sincere thank you goes out to the Oakley Place retirement home, State of the Heart Hospice, and the Dayton Physicians Network. They all gave Kay excellent care in her battle. The family requests that Memorial Contributions be made to State of the Heart Hospice.
Condolences for the family may be sent to www.zecharbailey.com.
