Michael John Seaman (6 May 1944 - 9 Oct 2024)

In loving memory of Michael John Seaman who sadly passed away on 9th October 2024.

Mike will be hugely missed by his family and friends. An older brother to Dick and Val, he willingly accepted the elder role all his life, taking care of those he loved in an unfussy, affectionate and always practical way.

Married to his life-long love Sue, he was an endlessly supportive father to Gary and Andy and much loved, always fun Grandad to Jaimie, Bella and Phoebe. He enjoyed many family holidays with the grandchildren, teaching them to swim and enjoy the sea at Gwithian and the Scilly Isles.

As a young man working in the print industry, he was a staunch 'father of the chapel' for his print union, but as the old hot metal print declined, he embraced the new technology of computers and helped retrain colleagues for the transition. Over a long working career, the job he probably enjoyed most was his last one, working in a local secondary school, giving staff and students somewhere to come for support, always combining his trademark humour and tough-love practicality. While working at the school, he was inspired to take his History A level - one of the few regrets in his life was that he hadn't had the chance for the academic education his keen intelligence and curiosity obviously deserved.

His retirement was cut short by the Motor Neurone disease that eventually paralysed him, but before that he was an enthusiastic and active volunteer in many areas, especially enjoying work with the National Trust. In his seventies, he was still learning new skills, acquiring his chainsaw license, building stone paths, laying miles of hedges and helping to maintain the beauty of the Somerset countryside he loved so much.

When he moved to Langport in the early 1990s, he planted the field at the side of his house with hundreds of tiny saplings, native British species and heritage apple varieties. For many years now, local people have been able to enjoy walking the public footpath alongside the natural woodland he created and managed for over thirty years; like his impact on those who knew him, it is entirely typical of Mike that he left his corner of the world a much better place than he found it.