Robert Atkinson Seeley, a Germantown resident for 54 years and former executive director of the Philadelphia-based Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors (CCCO) who was beloved and respected by so many in Philadelphia's peace and social justice community, died Friday, Oct. 4, of complications from age-related ailments at his home. He was 81.
“He was so devoted to Germantown and the entire Northwest,” said his daughter Laura, a history and English teacher at Roxborough High School. “For the last 10 years, he organized 'Walk Germantown,' an interesting mix of people he would take on informal walks to locations like Wayne Junction or Vernon Park. There would be anywhere from about seven people to many more on these walks. They were always interesting and varied.”
Seeley was born in West Oak Lane and spent his early years, at first, in Germantown, and then moved with his parents and sister to upper Roxborough. He graduated from Friends Select School in Center City and then graduated from Earlham College in Indiana, majoring in Philosophy. During his college years, he traveled with a group to Washington, D.C., to participate in the 1963 March on Washington, where he joined hundreds of thousands of others to fight for Civil Rights.
After graduating from college amid the Vietnam War, Seeley filed as a Conscientious Objector and served alternative service in Sumter, South Carolina, where he worked with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) for two years in Sumter.
“While he was there, he worked with daycare centers, supported a local church and coached a baseball team for teenagers,” said Ruth Seeley, his wife of 56 years. “His experiences in Sumter greatly influenced his approach to life.”
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.
In 1968, Seely and Ruth met on a peace organization-sponsored trip to Russia. Ruth, a Quaker from Newcastle upon Tyne in Northern England, was leading the British delegation. The couple married and traveled together in their Volkswagen Bug to train volunteer draft counselors in many cities, including Binghamton, New York, Boston and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
“Sometimes we invited young draftees into our home if they needed a place to stay,” Ruth said, “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!”
In addition to his work on behalf of human rights, Seeley had a 20-year experience in publications work, desktop publishing, hardware and software. After his service with AFSC in South Carolina, he joined the staff of CCCO. From 1984 to 1994, he was responsible for all publications and newsletters published by the organization, including three books, approximately 25 pamphlets and a quarterly newsletter.
He began his own business, Desktop Resources, in April, 1995. He published Discover Germantown starting in 2003, a website started as a project for Germantown Friends School aimed at counteracting negative stereotypes of the neighborhood.
“Bob really, really loved Germantown,” said Ruth, who also worked with several nonprofits, including the AFSC, where she was deputy executive director for 12 years. “Our focus has been with groups trying to rescue Germantown from years of neglect by the city, huge empty buildings and people misusing grant money.”
Seeley published four books and numerous articles on peace and conscience issues. His body of work includes “Handbook for Conscientious Objectors “ (1982), which he wrote, edited and designed; “Advice for Conscientious Objectors in the Armed Forces” (1984); “Handbook of Non-Violence” (1986); and “Choosing Peace: A Handbook on War, Peace and Your Conscience” (1994), which he wrote, edited and designed.
“In his own time,” said Ruth, “he also wrote a Sherlock Holmes novel called 'The Citadel of Gold,' which he was immensely proud of but never published. I encouraged him to send it to publishers, but he said he feared getting 50 rejection slips. But at the end of his life, he said he wished he had done that. We may still put it online and donate whatever comes in to a Germantown nonprofit.”
Outside of his human rights activism, Seeley 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 us,” Ruth said. “He had a huge collection of cookbooks, and he would watch cooking shows on TV. When I'd come home from work, he would have a wonderful home-cooked meal on the table every night.
“He also enjoyed walking around Germantown, taking care of many cats over the years and rooting for the Phillies through thick and thin. Over the years, we had 12 or 13 rescued cats, usually three at a time. Right now I only have one, Queenie, a tri-color who is 7, keeping me company.
“Bob loved to decorate for the seasons, especially on the porch of the house that we shared, where he made sure that the decorative lights were on each night to brighten up the neighborhood,” Ruth said.
There will be a Memorial Meeting to remember Seeley on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2 p.m., at Germantown Monthly Meeting, 47 West Coulter St. There will be a Zoom option. In addition to his wife and daughter, Robert Seeley is survived by other relatives. A sister died earlier.
Donations in Seeley’s memory may be made to the Friends of Vernon Park (friendsofvernonpark.org) to help continue the work of maintaining the park that meant so much to him. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com
