Dallas was the eldest of 3 sons born to Carl and Hilda (Roesner) Seiler on June 30, 1927 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Soon after graduating from Waynedale high school in 1945, Dallas joined the Merchant Marines, subsequently he enlisted in the Air National Guard and was stationed at Selfridge Air Force base. Dallas met the love of his life, Leona Kowalski in Quincy, Michigan, and they were married on February 23, 1952 beginning a 72 year love affair. After leaving the service, Dallas and Leona moved to Marshall, Michigan where he began his career at Ronan & Kunzl Mfg. In 1955 they purchased a rundown 100 acre farm north of Marshall which fulfilled his lifelong dream of being a farmer. Over the years, Dallas worked on improving his farmland, as well as completing a total renovation of their farmhouse mostly by himself, while also working full-time at R&K. Dallas wore many hats at R&K starting as a draftsman, later serving as the personnel manager until his retirement in 1986. By 1992, Dallas was ready to leave the cold Michigan winter weather behind. They decided to sell their farm and began spending their summers living on Archer Lake in Quincy, Michigan and their winters as Texas snowbirds in the Rio Grande Valley. Dallas loved fishing on Delta Lake and watching his fruit trees grow while enjoying the warm Texas weather. In 2002 Dallas and Leona relocated yet again to live year round in Tryon, North Carolina. In 2013 they made the decision to move from Tryon to The Woodlands at Furman retirement community in Greenville South Carolina.
Dallas is survived by his loving wife and partner, Leona (Kowalski) and by his 3 children: Lance (Barb) Seiler, Howard (Cathy) Seiler and Roxanne (Alan ) Cordonier; 6 grandchildren: Paul (Brooke) Seiler, Jordan (Jeff) Alfieri, Andrew (Apryl) Seiler, Ben (Sarah) Wright, and Henry & Eric Seiler; 4 great-grandchildren: Eli & Owen Seiler and Sophie & Violet Alfieri, as well as his brother Steve (Loretta) Seiler and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brother and sister-in-law Carl and Gwen Seiler.
Dallas was an active member in the community, including serving on the Mar-Lee school board, the Lee Township zoning board and was past President of the Calhoun Co. chapter of the MIchigan Mental Health Society, He was active in the Calhoun County Farm Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce and United Way organizations and was a longtime member of the local chapter of Toastmasters. Dallas was a dedicated member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus in Marshall. He was generous to a fault in both charitable donations and volunteering his time. Dallas was known as the go-to handyman, willing to tackle repair projects for family, friends and neighbors. He was still cutting, splitting and hauling firewood into his 80's.
Dallas was a loving husband and father who enjoyed taking his family on many memorable summer vacations across the country. Another tradition was taking the entire family out for dinner and a movie on most Friday nights. Dallas enjoyed fishing trips to Canada and was always up for a card game. Many life lessons were learned at the family card table where you would hear his booming laughter as he took tricks or won a close game. He continued playing cards right up through age 96. All in all, his was a life well lived and one to be celebrated.
A memorial mass for Dallas will be held Wednesday June 12th at 2PM at the Poor Clare Monastery 37 McCauley Rd., Travelers Rest SC, 29690. A celebration of life will follow at the Woodlands of Furman at 6PM. An inurnment ceremony will be held later this summer in Quincy, Michigan.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that people make donations in support of Starr Commonwealth 2024 Giving Campaign - (starr.org) the Greenville Tech foundation Donate – Greenville Tech Foundation Fund #3560/Nursing Endowed Scholarship and the Poor Clare Monastery (poorclaresc.com).
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