by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
John Seiler was eulogized at his funeral Tuesday as a humble, quiet, soft-spoken man who was one of the nicest guys who ever lived – an “ordinary” unassuming man who had an “extraordinary” positive influence on so many others.
Seiler, 51, died Sept. 8 while riding his bike on CR 2 in Sartell, just south of CR 4. At about 6:20 p.m., a car driven by a 78-year-old woman from Pasadena, Calif. Struck Seiler from behind. He died at the scene.
Seiler was widely known for his passionate love of bicycling and his participation in duathlons, triathlons and other biking events. He was instrumental in making the Sartell Apple Duathlon, now in its third decade, one of the premier races in the nation.
Just four days before his death, he placed second in his age group in the Harvest Duathlon in Alexandria, which he was very happy about, vowing to place first in that race next summer.
Since his untimely death, friends far and wide have been mourning him, and all of them keep mentioning his smile, his kindness, his endlessly willing volunteer work and how genuinely nice he was, never saying negative comments about anybody.
At his funeral Sept. 15 at Celebration Lutheran Church in Sartell, pastors Elizabeth Strenge and Jeff Sackett presided with a personalized sermon by Sackett and an eulogy delivered by Marty Tabor, a friend of Seiler’s for 23 years.
Tabor began his eulogy with four words: “Bravo Burritos Cheese Head.” Seiler loved to eat every chance he got at Bravo Burritos. He was also a dyed-in-the-wool Green Bay Packers fan, having grown up on a farm in famously beautiful Door County in northern Wisconsin. Tabor said it was those kinds of daily, ordinary things about Seiler that he so cherishes.
Tabor referred to the late Dr. Kubler-Ross’s book, On Death and Dying, which examines the stages people and their loved ones go through when an illness is terminal, such stages as denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Tabor said he struggled with those emotions in the days following Seiler’s passing, but he finally decided to move quickly to acceptance because he realized Seiler’s life is a cause for celebration. It was all about what he left, what he did for others through his joy in life, in living.
Seiler didn’t like being in the limelight, though he did enjoy competition – the kind of friendly competition that caused him to be the best he could be. Many a time during a race, Seiler would stop to help someone out who was in a bit of a jam.
He used to tell fellow bikers during a race, “Hang with me if you can, but if you can’t I’ll see you at the finish line.”
In his sermon, Pastor Sackett praised Seiler for his extraordinary passion for life, his humility and his deeply ingrained love for others, all qualities he passed on to others.
“This man will be missed – deeply missed,” Sackett told the congregation. “John, we’ll see you at the finish line. Amen.”
Rewarding life
In a hallway of the church were many mementoes of Seiler’s life: a racing medallion, other medals for winning races, a scrapbook-diary and many, many photos, most of them attached to poster boards. The photos gave glimpses of Seiler bicycling, of course, but also dozens of views of Seiler enjoying friends, hanging out happily at various places, having dinner with family and friends, and snapshots showing Seiler bursting with love and pride for his nieces and nephews.
Seiler was born July 2, 1964 in Algoma, Wis., the son of Kenneth and Veronica Seiler. He graduated from Southern Door High School, then graduated from St. John’s University, Collegeville, in 1987 with an accounting degree.
He worked at DBL Labs, the Antioch Corp. (Creative Memories), W3i and was, up until the time of his death, employed by Trek Bicycles, based in Wisconsin, although Seiler was able to work from his Sartell home.
Much of his life was spent in volunteering for local athletic groups and events. He served on the board of the Sartell Apple Duathlon for 25 years. He was a member of the St. Cloud River Runners for more than 15 years.
Every year, Seiler hosted a “breakfast run” at his home on weekends when the Vikings and Packers were playing.
He not only loved bicycling, he also spent many hours maintaining bike trails.
Seiler was a member of the Mid-Minnesota Cycling Club, the Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association of Wisconsin and the St. Cloud DuTri, which is a local duathlon training club. He was also a strong supporter of St. John’s Johnnies football and the St. Cloud Husky hockey teams. He also loved to donate time and volunteer work for many youth groups in several states.
Seiler is survived by his father, Kenneth, of Forestville, Wis; many nephews and nieces; and nine siblings, including Lisa Seiler of Sartell and Monica Cofell of St. Joseph.
Seiler was interred at St. John’s Cemetery, Collegeville.
