James Kieffer Seibert, Jim to most, Jimmy to close family and childhood friends, died on May 29, 2024, at Doey's House, a component of Hospice of Washington County in Hagerstown, Maryland, from complications of Bronchitis and Inflammatory Systemic Response Syndrome. He is survived by his wife, Anne, daughter Cathy (Lee Newman) and son Michael (Dr. Erika Martin Seibert), twin granddaughters (Katherine and Emmaline), and one grandson (William). He will also be missed by the spouses of his siblings, many nieces, nephews, and cousins in the Seibert, Wilhide, Miles, Powell, Middlekauff, Sorge, Purswell, Horst, Bloyer, and Saloom families, the Israel and Creswell families, former teaching and National Park Service colleagues, members of the Clear Spring High School alumni, and residents at Homewood Retirement Center.
Born on November 6, 1944, in Clear Spring, Maryland to Daniel and Virginia Seibert, Jim's life centered around the hard work associated with maintaining a dairy farm. Each day before going to school, he milked cows. Chores after school included baling hay, tending to a vegetable garden, feeding chickens, sheep, hogs, and horses, sometimes using horse-drawn equipment to plow or mow farm fields, in addition to homework, piano lessons, and 4-H projects. This experience served as the foundation of Jim's work ethic, which he continued to practice throughout his life, and informed his children's values.
Jim committed to becoming a schoolteacher when the State of Maryland offered college scholarships to fill a critical teacher shortage in the public school system. He enrolled at Frostburg State where he met Anne, whom he married after graduation. He majored in Social Studies and Education, enjoyed playing soccer, and made life-long friendships as a member of the Alpha Delta Chi fraternity.
He went on to teach in Prince Georges County, and then in an innovative program at the Washington County Board of Education delivering instruction via closed circuit television. He taught a contemporary issues class in the form of a Dick Cavet-style interview show where he conversed with notables during the Presidential Election of 1972 including actor Lorne Green campaigning for Hubert Humphrey, Mrs. McGovern on behalf of her husband, George McGovern, and former Governor of Alabama George Wallace just prior to the attempt on his life.
In addition to his usual teaching duties on Instructional TV, he played the "Giant Genie" who magically transported students to historical points of interest throughout Washington County, Maryland. He concluded his teaching career at South Hagerstown High School (SHHS) delivering instruction in Social Studies, Psychology, and a course titled Love, Marriage, and Death, for over 20 years. While there he led the SHHS Senior Boys Club, that collected over a ton of canned goods every year for the food bank. While a member of the Athletic Boosters, he led the effort to establish night games in the stadium for the soccer team. Additionally, he was honored to be part of team of educators that helped to design the Washington County Outdoor School in Clear Spring, Maryland.
Jim dedicated his life to service - as a beloved teacher for thousands of students, and with the National Park Service. He balanced this with providing a good home and life for his wife and children, supplementing his teaching salary by working in the late 1960s at Sparrows Point, cutting firewood, building patios, custom fencing, and garden structures around Washington County, including the historic Miller House in Hagerstown. From 1977 until 2003, Jim worked as a seasonal ranger at the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. He provided tours for park visitors, registered campers and patrolled the Washington County portion of the 185-mile linear park. Jim also served youth in his community as a soccer coach for the Hagerstown Area Youth Soccer League for many years.
A lover of the outdoors, Jim relished time spent with his family and friends hunting deer and small game. With his siblings and cousins he shared his dry wit at many family gatherings and social settings, and with nieces and nephews he offered insights and wisdom.
Music was a great source of pleasure for Jim. He enjoyed listening to the Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, John Denver, and the singer songwriter generation of musicians. He kept a record player in his classroom, where students brought their own records in to play before homeroom in the mornings. Offering local rock bands a venue to hone their craft and share their talents, he established the Summer Sounds outdoor concert series at the Hagerstown City Park Bandshell. He was a member of the Washington County Arts Council and supported the Park Arts Festival musical programming.
In retirement, he was a mainstay for his mother and mother in-law, attending to their welfare and care to the end of their lives. He helped his son with many projects at his home. He led volunteers at Homewood Retirement Center's Walk in the Woods, installing and maintaining gardens in a beautiful space used by residents and their guests for communing with nature, and for the Clear Spring District Historic Association, in the preservation of Plumb Grove and Brown's Meeting House. He and Anne traveled extensively, and he valued the opportunities to learn more about other cultures, try local cuisines, and see natural wonders beyond the familiar and beautiful Maryland landscape.
Among the greatest joys in his adult life has been watching his three grandchildren grow and mature as individuals in the care of his son and daughter-in-law, and develop their incredible talents through their discipline and hard work.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Virginia Ruth Miles Seibert and Daniel Kieffer Seibert; his sisters, Cassandra Ruth Wilhide (Cassie) and Maryann Saloom (Rodney); his brothers Daniel Timothy Seibert (Dena), Paul Alan Seibert (Sherry), and John Benjamin Seibert (Sally).
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to either of the following:
The Clear Spring District Historic Association
P.O. Box 211
Clear Spring, MD 21722
Doey's House, Hospice of Washington County, Maryland
Hospice of Washington County
1710 Underpass Way, Suite 300
Hagerstown, MD 21740
(make checks payable to Hospice of Washington County)
Messages can be shared with the family on the Harman Funeral Home website Obituaries Tribute Wall https://www.harmanfunerals.com/obituary-listing
The family is planning a private memorial.
Posted online on June 19, 2024
Published in The Herald-Mail
