Paul Henry Seay

Paul H. Seay, 66, of Raleigh, North Carolina, passed away early Thanksgiving morning, November 26, 2015, after a long struggle with lung disease. Born November 16, 1949, in Cincinnati, Ohio, he was the son of the late Paul and Jackie Seay.

He is survived by his daughter, Kim Marinus and her husband Scott of McLean, Virginia, his two grandchildren, Spencer and Kaylee Marinus; sister Judy Reeves of Oak Creek, Wisconsin; and brother Bill Seay of Spring Mills, Pennsylvania. He was preceded in death by his wife Patty and his brother David Seay.

Paul graduated in 1968 from Howe Military School, Howe, Indiana, after which he served two years in the Army doing a tour in Korea. Upon returning home he found employment with the US Postal Service, initially as a letter carrier and later transitioning into maintenance where he repaired and maintained a variety of mail sorting machines.

After 35 years at the post office, Paul retired and started a second life, pursuing his love of photography. He joined the Carolinas’ Nature Photographers Association (CNPA) where he became co-coordinator, helping to plan meetings and field trips. He attended the Rocky Mountain School of Photography in the summer of 2007 and thoroughly enjoyed dedicating an entire summer to photography. He spent many hours photographing at parks and events in the Raleigh area but was most drawn to the Outer Banks.

Paul became involved with the Red Cross in 2005 when hurricane Katrina devastated the Caribbean coastline, and stayed on for the next ten years, becoming part of the daytime Disaster Action Team, eventually becoming a team captain and serving in that role for the last seven years of his service. Paul was also known as the “official” Triangle Chapter photographer for Red Cross events and meetings. On some occasions he would be sent out to disaster sites to document the work done by the Red Cross. His hard work and dedication earned him the 2013 Poe Heritage Award, the Triangle Chapter’s highest volunteer service award.

A memorial service will be held at the Mitchell Funeral Home, 7209 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh, on Monday, December 14, at 10:00 am. The family will receive guests immediately following. Burial in Raleigh Memorial Park will follow the reception.

Memorial contributions may be directed to the Triangle Area Chapter of the Red Cross, 100 N. Peartree Lane, Raleigh, NC 27610.