William Barrett Seymour

William Barrett Seymour, age 68, of Massillon passed away peacefully at home Sunday morning after an 18 month courageous battle with cancer. His wife and daughter were by his side. Bill was born October 19, 1937, in Massillon to the late Ralph Seymour and Virginia Barrett Seymour Repp. He was a life-long area resident and a 1955 graduate of WHS. Bill attended Ohio University for one year before enlisting as a member of the U.S Marine Corps. He served from October 1956 to October 1958 and held the rank of Corporal with the 3rd Marines, serving in the Far East. He was employed by Republic Steel Corp. until being appointed to the Massillon City Police Department on May 25, 1960. He was promoted to sergeant on March 25, 1973, to lieutenant in February 1980, and to the rank of captain in 1985. He retired in 1989 and in 1990 he became the Massillon Municipal Court Bailiff for Judge Eugene Fellmeth where he served until the end of 1995. A member of Henderson Lodge 105, FOP, Bill served as treasurer in 1963 and as their president in 1982. He was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church and was a former lay commentator there. A member of Massillon Council 554, Knights of Columbus, he served as Grand Knight 1979-80 and as Faithful Navigator of the 4th degree in 1985. He received the Blue Coat Award from the organization in 1978. Active in community affairs, he had been a member of the Boys and Girls Club Executive Board for many years and served as President in 1989. He was a regular blood donor through the American Red Cross and in 2004 received a pin for having donated 108 times. Bill was an avid Massillon Tiger fan and also enjoyed baseball, walking, reading, and playing with the grandchildren. He is survived by his wife of 46 years who was also his high school sweetheart, Sylvia (Kane) and by children, Jill Seymour of St. Louis, MO; Lisa DelValle of Massillon; Mark (Cheryl) Seymour of Bellevue, OH, and Thomas Seymour of Massillon; grandchildren, Tannah Young of Massillon, Andee DelValle of Massillon, Halle & Ian Seymour of Bellevue, and Audrey, Matthew, Ethan, and Katie Seymour of Massillon, plus two great granddaughters, Kylie Young and Madison Bishop of Massillon. He is also survived by brothers Robert (Edie) Seymour of Canton and Charles Seymour of Massillon, sister-in-law Candy Barkan and her husband Jim, and brother-in-law, Jef Kane and his wife Pam, along with many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews and cousins. Bill was thankful to have made so many friends over the years starting with his classmates and neighbors and including his fellow police officers and Massillon court employees. He leaves behind the good friends of the Friday Night Gang - Dick & Phyllis Conger, Melva Hofmann (whose deceased husband Byron was also a longtime friend). Bob & Shirley Jordan, and Don & Rosalie Wolfe. The family expresses their thanks to all the many people that said prayers for Bill. Many were private prayers and many were through church prayer lines. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Thursday at 10:00 A.M. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Interment will be in Brookfield Cemetery. Friends may call Wednesday from 2-4 and 6-8 P.M. at the Paquelet Funeral Home. Those who wish may make contributions in his name to Mercy Medical Center Hospice, 7568 Whipple Ave NW, North Canton, OH 44720; Save the Lions Lincoln Theatre, P.O. Box 215, Massillon, OH 44648; or Boys and Girls Club of Massillon, 730 Duncan St SW, Massillon, OH 44647.