Dr. John C. Seidel

He was a loving, beloved, and never boring husband of 49 years to Patricia McHugh Seidel.

John (aka Budka, Cousin, The Phantom, Jack, Doc, the Rowing Dentist, the Big Guy) was born in Portland, Maine in 1948. Devoted and loving son of the late Rita and Dr. John Henry “Harry” Seidel; fiercely proud, loving and supportive father of his three children, the late Christin Marie Seidel; John Henry Seidel and his wife Mandy Babigian Seidel of Mill Valley, CA; Mary Seidel Bowler and her husband Stephen Bowler of Boston, MA. Playful and silly grandfather to Jack and Ben Seidel and Jaye,”Birdie,” Bowler.

He played basketball and graduated from Falmouth High School in Maine; he was on the Ski team and earned a B.S. from St. Anselm’s College, and a Dental Degree in Medicine (DMD) from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Seidel went on to accept a two-year internship in Dental Medicine for medically complex patients at the University of North Carolina. While practicing General Dentistry, he earned a PhD in Anthropology from Michigan State University. Dr. Seidel held academic positions at Michigan State University, University of Connecticut, Quinnipiac University, and most notably was appointed Curatorial Affiliate in the Division of Anthropology for the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Dr. Seidel practiced dentistry for over 41 years, beginning in Portland, ME, and continuing in Alma, MI, Simsbury, CT and finally in his unique “one man practice” in Scituate, MA.

As a third generation dentist, Dr. Seidel took great pride in carrying on his family’s tradition of improving patients’ experience of dental care. He had a deep reverence for his profession and the patients he cared for. As an educator, he converted his waiting room into a cozy library where patients could take out books, an idea that often served as a catalyst for future conversations in the dental chair or in happenstance meetings in and around the harbor. Most of these books reflected Dr. Seidel’s many and diverse loves and interests, including but not limited to: sailing, sports, boat building and restoration, wooden boats, the ocean, rock n’ roll, biographies, nautical charts, art, history, Thurgood Marshall, Crazy Horse, The Benedictine Rule, and Native American History, Race, and Ethnicity.

John was a man of faith with a clear moral compass, an intellectual with a huge heart, a gentleman, a great listener, a wonderful conversationalist, a loyal friend, an artist, sailor, inventor, writer, poet, efficient consumer of cold beer, fearless body surfer, and a great buddy. He was as funny as he was smart, kind as he was humble, unpretentious as he was intense, patient as he was empathetic. Throughout his life, John cherished his time and conversations with family and friends at Pine Point Beach in Maine - usually shirtless, sunburned and covered in sand. Family and friends looked up to him as a ‘sage’ in all things Maine including wind and weather patterns, tides, boats, clambakes and how to eat a lobster.

He is survived by his sisters, Anne Marie Seidel Owens, of Denmark, ME and Barbara Seidel Keene of Gorham, ME, as well as many spirited and loving aunts, cousins, in-laws, nieces, nephews, patients and friends. Pat, John Henry, and Mary would like to thank the staff at Cardigan Nursing and Rehabilitation Center for the extraordinary care and support they provided to John and to the entire family.

Friends and family are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Mary of the Nativity Church, Scituate, MA on Thursday, July 15, 2021 at 11 AM. Burial to follow in St. Mary's Cemetery, Scituate, MA.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Dr. Seidel to Cardigan’s Activities Fund, 59 Country Rd, Scituate MA 02066, 781-545-9477.

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