Mrs. Sellman,  I don’t know if you willremember me, but Mr Sellman was my gym teacher way back in the day at Hampton Bennett.  We also knew you at First Baptist in Franklin.  Mr Sellman was truly one of the best and took great interest in the success of each student.  He was a blessing to so many.  I am so sorry for your loss.  I will keep you and your family in my prayers.   
Sincerely, Ed Treadway

Evelyn Sellman and Family, 
 Was so sorry to hear of the great loss of your husband. Our deepest sympathies are with you and all of your family now and in the days ahead. In this time of sadness we wanted to express how lucky and grateful we feel to have crossed paths in the Jr. and High school gymnastic years of our life. There are few people in this world that have such a profound effect on so many and are able to touch their hearts and inspire them to be the best they can be. Thank you,Evelyn, for allowing your husband to spend so much time in the gym. That was a great sacrifice and greatly appreciated. Your fingerprints won't fade from the lives you both have touched. Praying God will walk with you gently, patiently, faithfully. One of life's mysteries is that we can share in the sorrows of this world but still be certain of God's great love.

Evelyn all my love and prayers to you. I will miss him. We had our own relationship all through the years. I remember all the times I would fuss at him about being hard on the boys. He would always say they need to toughen up, or ah they'll be okay. LOL! That was our dance a lot of the time.  I always honored and respected him for his patience with me because I know I was a hand full. He will be so missed. You will be okay ONE DAY AT A TIME, ONE TEAR AT A TIME. My heart is with you. Rest in knowing God has you in the palm of His hand. He feels your heart and knows your pain. Allow Him to comfort you in the way only He knows how. I know words don't help and people don't help but God will help you make it through the process. Lean in to Him, hold on to Him with every fiber of your being. Know there are people praying for you. 

All my love,
Casey

My deepest sympathy to your family.  Don….what can we say, he was a very special man. He was a great inspiration to our sons Pedro and Miguel Pineda. Don always had a story to tell. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and yours.
Pedro and Rita Pineda

We are so saddened to hear of Don’s passing.   I taught physical education with Don many years ago.  He had the seventh grade boys, and I, the girls.  He was a fun person to work with and a great teacher, who taught me a lot in my first years of teaching.  Our condolences to Don’s family.

Red and Cathy Troth

Thank you Mr. Sellman for being a part of our children’s lives

Sellman Family Reunion 2012 - the "boys" - bet Grandma and Grandpa Sellman had their handsful when these guys spent time on the farm!

Sellman Family Reunion 2012 - Don and Evelyn

Sellman Family Reunion 2012 - All first cousins

Sending our sympathy. Don was a fine gentleman. Jerry and Jan Truesdell

Don was a great coach, mentor, and friend.  He was always ready with kind words, a quick joke, or anything to put a smile on a kid's face.  I would always have an extra bit of excitement and reassurance to see Don at a training camp or competition.  Even though we weren't his gymnasts, he always treated me and my brother as if we were, which is a testament to his kindness and caring.  He was truly an amazing and special soul, and I feel blessed to have known him.

Don Sellman
My teacher, coach, and mentor. Don was the reason I became a teacher and coach. I have a lot of fond memories of Don but my fondest was Don teaching kids at Gerke to walk on their hands. After days and months of trying I finally accomplished the steps to get my name on the chart and seeing him smile for my accomplishment. Don is, was, and always will be Mr. Franklin Wildcat.
Don will be remembered by the Velte family as a person who cared about you no matter how big or small you were or what kind of abilities you had. In the gym he pushed you to be the best that you could be.
God bless you Don Sellman you will always be remembered 

So sorry to hear of your husband’s passing. Prayers Evelyn.
Bobbie Grice

Don Sellman was like a father to me. He would stop by and take me work outs with varisty players.I was in seventh grade. The older players would take with them to old A  and W root beer stand. He coach me in junior high. He was a wonderful man and human being.

Mr Sellman was my gym teacher in the 7th grade he was larger than life he was the one who gave me my nick name  big d which stuck with me even today what a great coach person and mentor in my opinion greatest coach Franklin ever had your presence will be missed condolences to the Sellman family 

Mr. Sellman saw a talent in me as a gymnast that I never knew existed and guided me to excel beyond physical and mental limitations I would have never thought possible. He taught me that with patience, determination and hard work, I could succeed in anything I put my mind to and that has always stuck with me. I didn’t have the typical high school experience since I spent so much time practicing in the Franklin Jr High gym, but I wouldn’t have given up his guidance and mentoring for anything different.  Thank you and rest in peace Coach Sellman.

My Favorite Coach...convinced me to play football in junior high...he said I had to..so I did..
Great coach and mentor...tried to get me to lift weights and I did some, but I was lazy... now kids do it all  the time..
He set me on my road to achieving something I hadn’t even thought about...attending the Air Force Academy
It really does just take one person with the heart of gold to influence someone to achieve more than they could envision 

Don Sellman was a man of prestige and character, a good man, a good coach, a good teacher. I have been inspired by him and his character throughout my life. He touched the hearts and lives of a lot of young men and women. I know this to be a fact… Because I am one of them. Don, you will be greatly missed.

Mr Sellman was many things to many people.  To me he was not only “ Coach “, but also mentor and “ friend “.  He became my “ Big Brother “ and looked over me for a time during my middle school years.  Going as far as making sure I had money for lunch so I didn’t go without eating during school. He was firm and insisted that I give my best, but he also had a soft heart and understand my situation as a youth was not good.  He was patient and always offering another chance to do well in sports  and in life.  I’ll miss you dearly Mr Sellman and I’ll continue trying to live up to the example you set before me. 

We will miss Don so much. He was a funny and loving relative and was always great fun at the family reunions! We always looked forward to those gatherings. I (Sue) remember he gave me my first motorcycle ride when I was about 10-12 years old.  Our love and sympathy goes out to all of his family. Thanks for posting the photo of the whole family on Facebook. It was nice to see and will be a fond  memory.
 Love,
Sue Ballard
Judy Maruszan

Debbie (Naylor) Stein

I am so saddened to hear of Mr. Selman’s passing.  Mr. Selman was a True HERO in all the lives he touched at the Franklin School District!!
I will never forget the big heart he had for so many of us.  In grade school, he would let the girls wrestle and he called me “Little Tiger”, that will always be etched in my mind.  Thank you Mr. Selman for being such a wonderful inspiration to all of us!
God Bless Evelyn, & all the family…..

Matt & I send much love and many blessings to the family. We will all miss Don tremendously. I am so glad I visited in the the Spring! Very special times. 

Love and blessings,

Cathy & Matt

I painted 2 of Mr. Sellmans vehicles for him when I was young. A van and his volkswagen that everyone knew.  He found out I painted on the side. He gave me the opportunity and he loved it when they were done. He was a good man and I enjoyed talking to him. Rip Mr. Sellman

I’m sorry to hear of Mr. Sellman’s passing. He was such a huge influence in my life. I was lucky enough to be one of his gymnastic students at Laura Farrell School when he first started in Franklin. He was very kind encouraging and thoughtful and I learned so much from him about dedication and strength. He was a great example to everyone he encountered.  He will be missed by many.

Molly Hurst Hensley

He was my wrestling coach and gymnastic. A great man.

My deepest sympathies to you and your family. May you support each other through what must be a tremendously difficult time  

Mr. Sellman was a great man in my life. I appreciate the memories that I have of him and the confidence that he showed in his life. He will be missed by many. 
Eual Presley 

I am so sorry to learn of Don’s passing.  He was so well known locally, state wide, and nationally as a fantastic gymnastics coach.  He won many championships, locally, state wide, and nationally.  He had a number of gymnasts who went to college on gymnastic scholarships.  He did all this while teaching physical education in Franklin City Schools.  He was admired and loved by many.  I taught in the Franklin City School System for many years while he was teaching.  My condolences are extended to his wife Evelyn and the remainder of his family.  He will be missed.  May he rest in peace.

Charlene (Gilbert) Routzohn
My heart goes out to the family.. He was a great man indeed.. I remember him in school.. Plus coming in Cassano's joking around with my Dad Charlie Gilbert.. May he forever live as a Franklin Wildcat he was created a great legacy..

Mr. sellman was a great teacher, coach, mentor, and friend. Great role model. Loved jumping in car and making a couple home visits in morning to urge students to get to school. Best memories is seeing his Volkswagen parked at FJHS on a snowy day and knowing that gymnastic practice was in session and he would let me in gym. He was a great guy to teach with and I loved the way he showed love for his family. 

I am so sad to hear of Mr. Sellman"s passing. I admire the love that he had for this town, the hard work he put into coaching and teaching, and what I will remember most of all is that darn wooden paddle that he would bang on the wall in gym..... 
He had an infectious smile... And he will be sadly missed. 
Prayers to his wife, children, and grandchildren.  
Rest in peace gentle giant
MaryBeth 

So sorry to hear of Don's  passing.  He was instrumental in putting Franklin on the map with his gymnastics teams.  He was a true Franklin Wildcat and through his football coaching and gymnastics teams he mentored lots  of student athletes.  Thoughts and prayers to Evelyn and her family .  

Monica Rhude

I loved the conversations we had together. He took a small "kid" who had very little confidence and help me rise above it. In gym class he noticed something about me and asked me play football and be a gymnast.
These were no where on my radar yet he was persistent and never gave up on me. I will be forever grateful for his deep concern for me, first as a person, and then as an athlete.
I would often go to his house on Sunday during high school to get the key to the school and equipment so I could work out. Decades later, Coach told me that he couldn't believe he would give me his keys to the school and allowed me to work out by myself on the high bar and P-bars each Sunday.
He said, "What was I thinking, Davy?" 
See, I know what he was thinking. He was thinking how he could help this young boy gain some confidence. I am so thankful that he took the risk and chance with me. Thank you, Coach

May Donald Sellman rest in peace in the sure assurance that he made it to his final destination well.  I remember him as a student at Schenck School.  I was one of those students who was never a gymnast but he tried to make all of us more flexible.  My poor attempts were very small but he tried God Bless Him.

Maybe I did well after all, I used to be a pretty good horsewoman maybe because of him.

OBITUARY

Donald L. Sellman

January 28, 1937 – December 26, 2022

Anderson Funeral Home

Show your support

Add a Memory

Share Obituary

Get Reminders

Services