Seeberger, Gene B Obituary

Seeberger, Gene B attended Fairmont West 63-83 High School in Kettering, OH. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Seeberger, Gene B.

Graduation Year	Faculty
Date of Passing	Aug 01, 2018
About	Choir, Musical Director SEEBERGER, Gene B. Full of life and with music in his heart, Gene was born on July 4, 1931, in Columbus, Ohio, and died at home on August 1, 2018, in Kettering, Ohio. At 10 years old, Gene auditioned for the newly formed Columbus Boys Choir School, which later became the American Boy Choir. Gene devoted the rest of his life to vocal music and the performing arts. He attended the Columbus Boys Choir School until he was 16 and graduated from Columbus North High School in 1949. He graduated from The Ohio State University in 1953 with a degree in music education, the first member of his family to graduate from college. In 1951, he met Harriet Ann Lord, the love of his life. They married on August 2, 1953. After serving about fourteen months as a first lieutenant in the United States Air Force in Korea, Gene completed his master's degree in sacred music at OSU in 1956. Clark Haines hired him to teach vocal music at Fairmont High School in Kettering, Ohio the same year. Gene taught vocal music at Fairmont, later Fairmont West, and D.L. Barnes Junior High School until 1982. Gene produced and directed the annual spring musicals at the high school, including The Music Man, The Sound of Music, Camelot, Damn Yankees, Mame, Fiddler on the Roof, West Side Story, Hello Dolly, Oliver, The Mikado, The Pajama Game, and many more. He retired from the Kettering Schools in 1986. Gene and Harriet performed in concerts at the Dayton Art Institute and Lakeside, Ohio. Gene performed for many years with the Dayton Opera Funatics, the Dayton Opera Chorus and the Lakeside Opera, was a soloist at Grace United Methodist Church on Salem Avenue, and performed with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, singing the Star-Spangled Banner at annual Fourth of July concerts at Island Park for many years. After his retirement, he enjoyed singing in the May Festival Choirs at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton. One of his legacies is the number of his students who also became music teachers and others who became professional actors in musical theater on Broadway and elsewhere. Many of his students kept in touch over the years and he loved hearing from all of them. Gene was preceded in death by his parents, Leo Eugene and Sara Louise Seeberger, and his sister, Sally Shriner. Gene is survived by Harriet and their three daughters: Susie, Stephanie, and Sandy (Thomas). At his request, there will be no service. Donations in memory of Gene may be made to the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, 126 N. Main Street, Suite 210, Dayton, Ohio 45402, to the Westminster Presbyterian Church Music Fund, 125 N. Wilkinson St., Dayton, Ohio 45402, or to any vocal music group of your choosing. Gene never met a stranger and lived his life with joy and many songs in his heart for his true love, Harriet. Published in Dayton Daily News on Aug. 5, 2018