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OBITUARIES
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Seth Joseph Duell
Seth Joseph Duell was born in a small farmhouse in the “tree claim”
on a farm near the tiny town of Ruleton, Kan., on June 25, 1925, to Seth
Edwin and Martha Gattshall Duell. He was the fifth of 11 children. His
eldest brother, Leroy, died at age 7 after being run over by the wheel
of a heavy hay wagon; Seth remembered the sound of Leroy’s crying
before he died. The next eldest child, also a brother, did not survive
an illness of dysentery at age 2. Seth remembered the dust storms —
his mother hanging wet sheets over the windows and doors to keep dust
from blowing into the house — and then came the Great Depression.
Father Duell was a rural mail carrier, in addition to farming, and this
work gave the family regular income through the hard years. Mother Duell
gardened, canned, and kept chickens, as she and father reared their family.
She taught all the children to play the piano.
All the Duell children graduated from college; each one married, and Seth
became uncle and great-uncle to many. The farm home is still owned and
lived in by family members.
Seth entered the U.S. Navy V-12 (officers training) program, and was sent
to study engineering at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. At the
First Baptist Church there, he became engaged to Ellen “Kitty”
Newton. A fervent Christian, he decided that military action was not the
will of Jesus Christ; he chose an honorable discharge from the Navy and
registered as a conscientious objector. By that time World War II was
over. He graduated in 1947 and went to work for Westinghouse in Pittsburgh.
After a year, he became convinced that he was called to Christian ministry,
and entered Colgate-Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, N.Y. Then,
to fill a need for humanities courses, he returned to his alma mater in
Madison. He and Ellen Kitty were married in December of 1949 in her parents’
new home in Arizona, and returned to Madison. After she graduated in June
of 1950, the couple went to Rochester, where Seth earned his master of
divinity degree. Two children were born during that time.
In 1954, Seth was called by the American Baptist churches of Dayton, Ohio,
to begin a new church in Page Manor. Seth became a member of the Intercultural
Committee of the Church Federation of Greater Dayton. In 1958, after four
years of preaching integration of housing as a matter of justice for the
military families and civilian employees of the nearby air force base,
Seth resigned from the pastorate and returned to his first vocation of
engineering. He went to work for National Cash Register Company.
The Duell family bought a large home in September 1959, in Dayton View;
by this time three more children had been born. Always a lover of classical
music and also athletic achievement, Seth became interested in the men’s
ballet classes which were being offered at the Schwarz School of Dance;
he and his sons, Daniel and Joseph, attended together. Their daughters
also took ballet and modern dance lessons. Piano lessons with Audley and
Barbara Wasson for the children (and parents) were also part of family
life; Daniel became proficient with the flute.
The children all chose vocations in the fine arts — Seth took great
pride in each of them. Daniel and Joseph became principal dancers with
the New York City Ballet Company; Reine, with the Joyce Tristler Company;
Amy Jo became a composer of classical music and a member of the piano
faculty at the Pasadena Conservatory; Debbie earned her masters’
in theater directing and worked with the SAK Theater Company.
The family was plunged into deep sorrow in February of 1986 by the suicidal
death of Joseph, aged 29, in New York. It is apparent now, after many
years, that this beloved son became bipolar (“manic-depressive”)
in his late twenties, and was not correctly diagnosed. The dance and music
communities in New York and Dayton were marvelously and lovingly supportive
of the Duell family in this tragic time, as were their neighbors, and
the church “family” of the Congregation for Reconciliation.
Seth and Ellen were active in neighborhood organizations on behalf of
integrated housing and other issues of social justice. In 1977, Seth received
his masters degree in engineering from the University of Dayton. In addition
to NCR, he worked for the Huffman Bicycle Company and for the Standard
Register Company; his last 16 years of employment were with Corning Inc.
of Greenville, Ohio, as senior project engineer. He worked past his 76th
birthday until that plant was closed at the end of 2001. Seth immediately
resumed his piano study, this time with Dr. Robert Ruckman at Sinclair
Community College.
In the autumn of 2002, illness struck Seth, and the cause was not immediately
found. It was termed secondary Addison’s disease, finally, by his
doctor, Cynthia Olsen, in December, 2002, when he became a resident of
Friends Care Center of Yellow Springs. Since then, he survived two hipjoint-replacement
surgeries and several other times of illness. He often spoke of his gratitude
for the quality of care and the pleasant surroundings he experienced at
Friends. He enjoyed taking part, with Emma Reed, (pictured here with him)
in Mary Beth Burkholder’s “Special Pals” project at
the Children’s Center which is part of Friends Care Center.
In 2003, Ellen sold the home in Dayton View and bought a house on Lamont
Road in Miami Township near Yellow Springs. Seth and Ellen were received
into membership by the Yellow Springs Friends Meeting (Quaker) in 2004.
Seth is survived by his wife Ellen; their four living children; and their
spouses; six grandchildren; three sisters and four brothers and their
spouses; and numerous beloved nieces, nephews and their children.
Gifts may be sent to Hospice of Dayton.
Edith M. Kelley
Edith M. Kelley, formerly of Saint Paris, passed away at 3:50 p.m., on
Thursday, July 10, in the Friends Care Center, Yellow Springs. She was
94.
She was born on Jan. 29, 1914, in Rochester, N.H., daughter of the late
Albert E. Meader and Eunietta (Scruton) Meader. She married Isaac Kelley
shortly before World War II.
Edith was a member of the Newson Missionary Church, St. Paris, and formerly
a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, East Hampton, Mass.
She enjoyed living in the community of Yellow Springs for several years.
In addition to her parents and husband, Isaac, who preceded her in death
on Feb. 7, 1990, she was preceded in death by one daughter, Nancy Roemer;
and two sisters.
Edith is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Malcolm and Nancy Kelley
of Yellow Springs; one son-in-law, William Roemer of Bloomingdale, N.J.;
one brother, Leon Meader of Rochester, N.H.; a half brother, Dwight Meader,
also of Rochester, N.H.; and several nieces and nephews.
Edith donated her body to Ohio State University to help others. Atkins-Shively
Funeral Home, St. Paris, is serving the family.
Austin L. Pitstick
Austin L. Pitstick of Springfield passed away Thursday, July, 10. He was
11. He was born Oct. 4, 1996, to Matthew Pitstick and Janene Edinger in
Xenia.
Austin loved to drive tractors and help around the farm. He enjoyed being
outdoors and riding four wheelers. He attended Indian Valley Middle School,
and was involved in 4-H and loved animals. Austin lived life to the fullest;
he loved people and could make a friend with anyone.
He was preceded in death by Charles and Norma Edinger; and one uncle,
Dean Edinger.
He is survived by his father, Matthew Pitstick and mother, Janene Edinger;
two brothers and a sister-in-law, Ryan and Abby Fife, and Brad Fife; one
sister, Jessica Edinger; grandparents Eugene and Edna Pitstick; and numerous
aunts, uncles and cousins.
Visitation was held, Sunday, July 13, in the Jackson Lytle Williams Funeral
Home, Yellow Springs. Service was held on Monday, July 14, in St. Paul
Catholic Church, Yellow Springs, with Pastor Anthony J. Geraci officiating.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Austin’s memory may be made
to the Austin L. Pitstick Memorial Fund, at any Fifth Third Bank.
Charles Christophe(r)
Charles Theodore Christophe(r) of Yellow Springs, Ohio, died on July 13.
He was 90.
Friends may call at the Jackson Lytle Williams Funeral Home, 322 Xenia
Avenue, Yellow Springs, from 5 to 8 p.m., Thursday, July 17. Services
will be held at 10:30 a.m., Friday, July 18, at St. Paul Catholic Church.
Burial will follow in the St. Paul Cemetery. A complete obituary and photo
will be published in this paper next week.
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