Contributions to the tribute of Paul Henri Seems

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J. John Goode posted a condolence

Saturday, October 19, 2019

I have so many good(e) memories of Paul Seems. My ex-brother-in-law. Babysitting for he & my sister early in their marriage, here in Dartmouth. Many family gatherings etc. But the one I return to (often) is set down in the Dominican Republic. We all had gathered for his daughter Tracy's (my niece) wedding. It was an all-inclusive holiday. When 1st he arrived, he was somewhat apprehensive and somewhat reserved. I assumed he had thought we would all be cold & distant to him. For had he not divorced our sister and might we be holding "that" against him. To the very contrary. We partied like old drunken sods who have known each and other throughout the ages. Like I said earlier it was in fact an all inclusive: so for the 7 whole days he & I would say it was the other's round while at the various bars. I never seen him smile more and more proudly. As #1 daughter was marrying upon the sand of a foreign beach, under a golden sun. A great memory indeed. "Paul, again it's my round then"!

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Charles Seems posted a condolence

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Paul Seems’ Eulogy. ‘Waste not, want not’ Oct 15, 2019 Erb & Good Funeral Home, Waterloo, Ontario Thank you all for being here today as we bid a final farewell to our loved one. The family thanks the Waterloo Regional Police Male Chorus for participating in this celebration of life of Paul Henri Seems. Paul was the eldest of a family of six children born to Francis Seems and Dorilla Mazerolle from Dalhousie, N.B. Born of an American father and Acadian mother, we all spoke English and French. Even though Paul lived in English speaking communities, he maintained his French and communicated with me in this language. After graduating from St. F.X. in Antigonish, Nova Scotia with a degree in business, he worked for a brief time with the Bank of Montreal in the Halifax- Dartmouth region. He was later offered employment by Dow Chemicals where he joined their sales team and spent most of his career as a Sales Manager before retiring in 1998. With Dow, in addition to working in the Halifax-Dartmouth area, he was posted to Sarnia, to Montreal and lastly to Mississauga. Post retirement, he lived in Mississauga but later relocated to the Kitchener-Waterloo region. His life centered on food, family, golf and signing. Family was his number one priority. As well, attending the annual Seems family reunion was a constant. Unfortunately, he was unable to attend the last two reunions as his health was beginning to fail him. To keep busy, Paul occupied himself as a self-employed financial advisor under the moniker ‘Fundman’. He was hired on as a seasonal employee for a golf course and for a time was a Course Marshal. His one and only ´hole-in-one’ gave him fodder for some interesting golf stories. He also held a permanent part-time car jockey position with Avis Canada working out of the Pearson International Airport. He was also a proud member of Waterloo Regional Police Male Chorus for many years and, in addition, sang with a small group of men for whom karaoke allowed them to feel like musical stars. If we are lucky, we might hear them at the reception following this ceremony. Born with a defective gene known as HLA-B27 which causes Ankylosing Spondylitis, a form of rheumatoid arthritis, Paul endured pain throughout his life. This degenerative disease was the genesis for five hip operations. At Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, he was known at the five hips man. That made him laugh. After successful open heart surgery a few years ago, he developed spinal stenosis which required surgery. While in recovery from this latest intervention, his right hip started to cause him pain and a sixth hip surgery was being contemplated. Never one to look for pity, he faced each challenge as an opportunity to learn something new and possibly meet new people with whom he could chat. He loved people and they gave him much love in return. When he became less mobile in the last year, he had a myriad of friends and acquaintances lining up to take him wherever he wanted. Of all these people, one person stands out as going way beyond the call of duty. Jim Ferguson, a wonderful friend, a great chauffeur, and a hero for being there for Paul drove him to his many appointments. Often, they would go out for a meal at a restaurant. As Jim told us recently and I quote ‘Paul was always looking for options to eat’. Paul’s interest in women goes way back. He was drawn to women as much as women were drawn to him because of his warm personality and his intelligence. Of the many, two women stand out: Jan, his first wife and the mother of his two beautiful daughters, with whom he shared his life for a quarter of a century and with whom he still maintained a friendly relationship. Another significant partner was Marion whose grandchildren gave Paul an opportunity to be PapaPaul which allowed him to be a grandfather and to provide them with direction and moral support. However, it was the birth of Ophelia, his only grandchild that brought him intense joy and happiness. I believe it was the fulfillment of one of his dreams. I will always remember Paul for his teasing. Everyone in our family had a nickname. He decided that mine would be ‘tar-pot’ as I am the one with the darkest colored skin. I was so offended by this handle that he gave in and changed my nickname. Henceforth, he referred to me with the equally offending and irreverent nickname ‘snowflake’. Paul was an avid collector. Apart from collecting money for retirement, he accumulated an impressive collection of discount coupons and plastic bags and containers. Ever the frugal man, he never discarded things that could be re-used particularly anything made of plastic. While cleaning out his kitchen last week, we were tempted to call the people at Guinness to see if Paul had set a new world record. He understood the 3R concept long before most other people. Paul will be remembered as a person who had respect for others and accepted people for who they are. My husband of 28 years, Robert, who is here today with me reminded me how Paul respected him and spoke to him in his mother tongue. May we follow in Paul’s example of kindness and openness to others, for the love of God is within and amongst us all. Godspeed Paul! Read by Charles Seems

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Charles Seems posted a condolence

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Paul Seems’ Eulogy. ‘Waste not, want not’ Oct 15, 2019 Thank you all for being here today as we bid a final farewell to our loved one. The family thanks the Waterloo Regional Police Male Chorus for participating in this celebration of life of Paul Henri Seems. Paul was the eldest of a family of six children born to Francis Seems and Dorilla Mazerolle from Dalhousie, N.B. Born of an American father and Acadian mother, we all spoke English and French. Even though Paul lived in English speaking communities, he maintained his French and communicated with me in this language. After graduating from St. F.X. in Antigonish, Nova Scotia with a degree in business, he worked for a brief time with the Bank of Montreal in the Halifax- Dartmouth region. He was later offered employment by Dow Chemicals where he joined their sales team and spent most of his career as a Sales Manager before retiring in 1998. With Dow, in addition to working in the Halifax-Dartmouth area, he was posted to Sarnia, to Montreal and lastly to Mississauga. Post retirement, he lived in Mississauga but later relocated to the Kitchener-Waterloo region. His life centered on food, family, golf and signing. Family was his number one priority. As well, attending the annual Seems family reunion was a constant. Unfortunately, he was unable to attend the last two reunions as his health was beginning to fail him. To keep busy, Paul occupied himself as a self-employed financial advisor under the moniker ‘Fundman’. He was hired on as a seasonal employee for a golf course and for a time was a Course Marshal. His one and only ´hole-in-one’ gave him fodder for some interesting golf stories. He also held a permanent part-time car jockey position with Avis Canada working out of the Pearson International Airport. He was also a proud member of Waterloo Regional Police Male Chorus for many years and, in addition, sang with a small group of men for whom karaoke allowed them to feel like musical stars. If we are lucky, we might hear them at the reception following this ceremony. Born with a defective gene known as HLA-B27 which causes Ankylosing Spondylitis, a form of rheumatoid arthritis, Paul endured pain throughout his life. This degenerative disease was the genesis for five hip operations. At Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, he was known at the five hips man. That made him laugh. After successful open heart surgery a few years ago, he developed spinal stenosis which required surgery. While in recovery from this latest intervention, his right hip started to cause him pain and a sixth hip surgery was being contemplated. Never one to look for pity, he faced each challenge as an opportunity to learn something new and possibly meet new people with whom he could chat. He loved people and they gave him much love in return. When he became less mobile in the last year, he had a myriad of friends and acquaintances lining up to take him wherever he wanted. Of all these people, one person stands out as going way beyond the call of duty. Jim Ferguson, a wonderful friend, a great chauffeur, and a hero for being there for Paul drove him to his many appointments. Often, they would go out for a meal at a restaurant. As Jim told us recently and I quote ‘Paul was always looking for options to eat’. Paul’s interest in women goes way back. He was drawn to women as much as women were drawn to him because of his warm personality and his intelligence. Of the many, two women stand out: Jan, his first wife and the mother of his two beautiful daughters, with whom he shared his life for a quarter of a century and with whom he still maintained a friendly relationship. Another significant partner was Marion whose grandchildren gave Paul an opportunity to be PapaPaul which allowed him to be a grandfather and to provide them with direction and moral support. However, it was the birth of Ophelia, his only grandchild that brought him intense joy and happiness. I believe it was the fulfillment of one of his dreams. I will always remember Paul for his teasing. Everyone in our family had a nickname. He decided that mine would be ‘tar-pot’ as I am the one with the darkest colored skin. I was so offended by this handle that he gave in and changed my nickname. Henceforth, he referred to me with the equally offending and irreverent nickname ‘snowflake’. Paul was an avid collector. Apart from collecting money for retirement, he accumulated an impressive collection of discount coupons and plastic bags and containers. Ever the frugal man, he never discarded things that could be re-used particularly anything made of plastic. While cleaning out his kitchen last week, we were tempted to call the people at Guinness to see if Paul had set a new world record. He understood the 3R concept long before most other people. Paul will be remembered as a person who had respect for others and accepted people for who they are. My husband of 28 years, Robert, who is here today with me reminded me how Paul respected him and spoke to him in his mother tongue. May we follow in Paul’s example of kindness and openness to others, for the love of God is within and amongst us all. Godspeed Paul!

G

Gerry Neville posted a condolence

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Although I've not known Paul as long as his family and relatives here today I did have the privilege of his friendship for many many years. One of my great memories will be that for over 20 years the 4 couples, Paul, Karl, Bryan and myself with our partners would get together every month and go out to dinner or share a meal at one of our houses and just chat and catch up with what was going on in each of our lives . Each year Paul Karl Brian myself and a couple of other guys wold go to Myrtle Beach to play golf the first week of May. One of the more memorable times was as we're driving down i-95 we were using walkie-talkies to stay connected to the other guys in their car but when the batteries wore down Paul would stand up inside my car with his head out of the sun roof waving to the car in front. It's amazing we never got arrested. On the first day we arrived in Myrtle Beach we would go shopping for food for the week and in his usual humorous way Paul having had his hips replaced several times would say "walk this way" and would exaggerate his gate to rock right and left down the isles always mading us laugh. He was so positive about life even if it meant kidding about himself . In my opinion Paul had several passions in his life. His first passion was always his family - his brothers and sister, his 2 girls and now his beautiful grand daughter Ophilia. Then came Karaoke - for as long as I can remember Paul would go out a couple of times each week to a karaoke bar and love the music and friendships it provided. Even on our drives to Myrtle Beach there were very few times that it was quite in the car - but I can't say it was only Paul - Karl fed Paul's addiction by playing 60s 70s and 80s music all the time. And never to be forgotten was his kindness and friendly manner to everyone he met. Paul will be dearly missed by everyone who knew him, especially for his easy disposition, his soft humor but Most of all for his kind friendship. NO MORE PAIN MY FRIEND, REST IN PEACE.

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and Mrs. Randy Armstrong donated to HEART AND STROKE FOUNDATION OF ONTARIO

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Our deepest condolences on the passing of your brother/father/uncle Paul - Randy and Linda

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Alison Peters purchased flowers

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Trace, Darren and Scotch. - Wishing you peace to bring comfort today and loving memories of your Dad for the days ahead. Lots of love- Ali

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Scott, Amanda, Sophia & Olivia Northey donated to HEART AND STROKE FOUNDATION OF ONTARIO

Monday, October 14, 2019

Trace & Laurie, may the memories you've shared with your Dad keep you comfort. There are no words.

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Rose Baker lit a candle

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Will always remember the many good times the gang had. Wonderful dinners, great conversations. Fun golfing buddy. Paul, may you and Bryan have good times up there and keep watch over us. We love you. Rose Baker

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The family of Paul Henri Seems uploaded a photo

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Paul Henri Seems

1946 - 2019