Hard work didn't bother Scottdale company owner

Those who knew Bill Seaman - friends, customers, business associates and community leaders - say he was a man who made things happen.

William M. Seaman, of Scottdale, former owner of Seaman Wholesale Candy and Tobacco Co., died on Tuesday, April 15, 2003, at his home. He was 92.

In the years following graduation from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Seaman returned to Westmoreland County to join his father and eventually his brother, Walter, in the family candy and tobacco wholesaling business.

"My grandfather (William Wesley Seaman) started the business in 1919 by pushing a mobile popcorn popping machine from one area event to another," said Mr. Seaman's son, Thomas Seaman.

The Seaman brothers, William and Walter, through hard work, perseverance, good business acumen and their knack of catering to their customers, watched as their wholesale candy, tobacco and sundry supply business also attracted venders from Fayette and Indiana counties.

And Mr. Seaman, ever mindful of his stewardship, not only to his customers, employees and residents of the community, served as a member of the board of directors of H.C. Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant, treasurer of the Westmoreland-Fayette Sewage Authority and a member of Calvin United Presbyterian Church.

His wife, Alice G. Orbin Seaman, whom he married after he returned from active duty with the medical corps in the Philippines during World War II, clocked more than 8,000 volunteer hours at Frick Hospital. Mrs. Seaman died in 1997.

"We all worked through the years," Thomas Seaman said. "As soon as my brother, Bill Jr., and I were old enough to help, Dad had us at the store filling the shelves with candy."

Thomas Seaman, eventually joined his father in the business as a partner and they worked together until 1994, when Mr. Seaman semi-retired.

Mr. Seaman also had been the sole owner and operator of Seaman Vending of Scottdale.

Thomas Seaman's wife, Kay, said her father-in-law was a true gentleman and an honest businessman who was respected by everyone who did business with him. "My daughters and I adored him. In a way, I was the daughter that he never had. He will be missed."

Mr. Seaman is survived by his sons, William M. Seaman Jr., and Thomas C. Seaman and wife, Kay Marie, all of Scottdale; two granddaughters, Kristian and Nicole Seaman, both of Scottdale; and three sisters, Sara Frances Carey and Jean Chappell, both of Sarasota, Fla.; and Esther Murphy, of West Hartford, Conn.