Abingdon, Virginia
Charles William Seaver, 87, died Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon, Virginia.
He was born April 6, 1936, in Abingdon, Virginia, the son of Margaret Virginia Blackwell Seaver and William Blaine Seaver of Marion, Virginia. He grew up in Marion in a house very close to the Norfolk and Western (N&W) Railway tracks. That house was a grandstand from which he saw steam railroading’s final era. At an early age, he was baptized with coal smoke and cinders by the thousands of steam locomotives passing the house each year and the many that stopped at his front door every day.
Upon graduating from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1958, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army from which he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1979. He served at Army posts in Indiana, Georgia, the Panama Canal Zone, Pennsylvania, Vietnam, and Washington, DC. He was awarded the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, and three meritorious service medals.
He was employed for 18 years by The Retired Officers Association in Alexandria, Virginia, retiring in 1998 as Deputy Director of Member Services.
After moving to Abingdon in 1998, he volunteered with the Virginia Creeper Trail Club, helping with trail and trestle maintenance from Abingdon to White Top Station. He coordinated the restoration of the N&W steam locomotive #433 at the Virginia Creeper Trail head and the N&W caboose in Depot Square. He was an active member of the Kiwanis Club of Abingdon, helping with Plumb Alley Day and other projects. He also served as president and secretary/treasurer of the Washington County Historical Society. He was a member of Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Elizabeth Rose Wayland Seaver; son William Edward (Jenny) Seaver of Fairfax, Virginia; daughter, Jean Elizabeth (Curtis) Herrick of Oak Hill, Virginia; son, David Charles (Gwen) Seaver of Fisherville, Kentucky.
He is also survived by ten grandchildren, Charlie, Katrina, and Hannah Seaver, James, Jacqueline, Stephen, Kathryn, and Julia Herrick, Tyler and Shaun Seaver; one step-grandchild, Jejung (Jennifer) So; two great-granddaughters, Cora and Hattie; two great-grandsons, Drew and Theodore; and his beloved Maine Coon cat, Mercedes.
A visitation will be held from 6:30 P.M. until 8:30 P.M., Sunday, May 14, 2023, at Frost Funeral Home in Abingdon, Virginia. A private graveside service will be held Monday, May 15, 2023, at Rose Lawn Cemetery in Marion, Virginia with Reverend Kevin Campbell officiating. Military honors will be rendered by the United States Army Honor Guard.
Flowers will be accepted at Frost Funeral Home. Memorial donations may be made to the Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church or to the Animal Defense League of Washington County, Virginia, PO Box 2099, Abingdon, Virginia, 24212.
Frost Funeral Home and Cremation Services is honored to serve the Seaver family.