Archpriest Gabriel N. Seamore, 71, who in retirement was attached to Saint George the Great Martyr Church here, fell asleep in the Lord following a lengthy illness on Wednesday, December 2, 2015 at Foremost Senior Campus, surrounded by family and friends.
Born to Gabriel Victor and Anne Seamore in Budapest, Hungary on May 13, 1944, he and his family eventually settled in southern California, where he graduated from the University of Redlands. He served in the US Army during the Vietnam War as an evacuation medic, risking his own life for that of his countrymen. Upon returning from his tour of duty, he married the former Jeannette T. Beauchea. He went on to serve as a Deputy Sherriff for Los Angeles County. Upon early retirement, he completed his master’s degree in Theology and served as a teacher.
A convert to Orthodox Christianity, Father Gabriel was ordained to the diaconate by Melkite Catholic Archbishop Joseph Raya in 1979 and was assigned to serve Saint Andrew Russian Greek Catholic Church, El Segundo, CA. After his reception into the Orthodox Church, he was ordained to the priesthood by His Grace, Bishop [now Metropolitan] Tikhon of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery, South Canaan, PA on March 17, 2007 and assigned Rector of Saint George Church, which he served until his retirement in late 2015. He loved being around his family, friends, and parishioners. Those who knew him well remember him as a giving, loving and selfless man. He loved making icons for the church and for other people.
Predeceased by his beloved wife, Matushka Jeanette, who fell asleep in the Lord in July 2010, Father Gabriel is survived by his son and daughter, Gabriel J. Seamore and Theresa N. Seamore; grandchildren Valynn M. Seamore and Zachary J. Schneider; two brothers; and many nieces and nephews and their children, whom he loved dearly.
The Rite of the Burial of a Priest will be celebrated at Saint George Church, 17323 Main St., Hesperia, CA on Wednesday, December 9, at 11:00 a.m.
In Memoriam: Archpriest Gabriel Seamore
by Archpriest David Thatcher
Rector, Saint Mary Magdalene Mission, Merced, CA
Perhaps not many knew him, but Father Gabriel Seamore, retired Rector of Saint George the Great Martyr Church in Hesperia, CA, passed away on December 2, 2015. He had been struggling with many ailments for some time, but it’s thought that congestive heart failure was the final blow.
The newly departed Father Gabe was my Deacon for a relatively brief amount of time. Most would be startled by his personal history, given his jovial demeanor. His family background is rooted in the confusions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the pressures of persecution. His father was a priest who gave in to the pressures of submitting to Rome. During WWII, Gabriel and his family were imprisoned at Dachau; his mother gave up her teeth—dental gold crowns!—in order to obtain milk for little Gabe. After WWII, the family came to the US. I don’t know if Father Gabe’s father was officially laicized, but the impression is he just stopped serving. My sense of it was great sadness, a victim of the times and decisions felt necessary. All this failed to dampen Gabriel’s love for God. In 1979, he was ordained a Deacon in the Russian Greek Byzantine Catholic Church here in California. When Deacon Gabriel and his family moved to the San Joaquin Valley in the 1990s, he was received into the Orthodox Church. Oddly, however, he was not received as a Deacon—not because he was unworthy, but because such things hardly ever happened in that Orthodox jurisdiction. It didn’t help that that particular parish was well-supplied with Deacons at that time; they hardly knew what to do with him. A few years later, Deacon Gabe approached me and asked if he could transfer to this Diocese of the Orthodox Church in America and have his diaconate restored through vesting. That’s what happened in 2001.
He served with us just a few short years. There was a deeper longing in his heart and, being retired, he requested a blessing to attend Saint Tikhon’s Seminaery with an eye towards ordination to the priesthood. My own response, which I kept pretty much to myself, was hardly enthusiastic. Do not misunderstand; I very much respected and loved Deacon Gabe. The thing was, I honestly wondered whether his health posed an impediment to priestly ministry. Deacon Gabe had some intense health issues secondary to type II diabetes. His mobility was certainly challenged. However, in spite of my qualms, he received that blessing and was later ordained a priest, being attached to Saint George Church, Hesperia, CA.
Happily, in a very few years, Father Gabe and his wife Terri (who died in 2011) did wonderful work at that sometimes struggling parish. Like so many parishes or missions, it had years of accumulated indebtedness to the Diocese (in the form of past due assessments). Under Father Gabe’s leadership, they quickly paid down their debt. In addition, he helped with major improvements to the church temple. How wonderful! I am glad nobody picked up on my concerns about Father Gabe’s health!
Nevertheless, his health began to fail, and Father Gabe saw the handwriting on the wall. He called me on more than one occasion, telling me that he intended to call the Archbishop about me—he wanted me to be his successor as the next priest. What a lovely thing! I found it very touching and (frankly) embarrassing. As a Deacon, Father Gabriel was a first-hand witness to some daunting difficulties that emerged here in Merced—things that developed on my watch, whether my fault or not! His kindness allowed him to see me and my labors in a way that transcended tumultuous times. If only the same could have been said about me regarding his own struggles!
Early this year, Father Gabe and I spoke over the phone. He was waving the white flag of surrender as the hounds of ill-health had cornered him. He would retire. His priestly ministry would be considerably less than a decade, and yet how God used him! His diaconal ministry developed late in life, and was interrupted by the vagaries of life and Church politics. In the end, Father Gabe’s labors—and perhaps even his father’s—were fulfilled in the Orthodox Faith.
How God works in each of us! How gracious is God to allow any of us to serve Christ’s Church, and to do so even as “wounded healers” (to borrow a phrase from Henri Nouwen)! Even when such ministry is judged rather short—eleventh hour workers!—by our puny human standards, God receives the labor and rewards as He will. Father Gabe may have ministered in relative obscurity, sadly unknown even by many of his clergy brethren, but his memory will undoubtedly be eternal in the heart of God.
Rest eternal, in blessed repose, to the servant of God, the Archpriest Gabriel!