Phyllis Wiltfeuer Seneff obit., Tarboro, N. C.
Source:May 27, 2004 Daily Southerner newspaper, Tarboro, N. C.
PHYLLIS W. SENEFF
Phyllis Wiltfeuer Seneff,76, who was a resident of the Fountains at Albemarle in Tarboro, N. C. for the past three years, died of congestive heart failure in the Intensive Care Unit of Heritage Hospital in Tarboro on Monday, May 24, 2004.
She was born on May 24, 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pa. to Henry and Christine (Murray) Wiltfeuer.Her parents and a sister, Betty Lou, predecease her.Phyllis received her bachelor's degree in Art from Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh in 1950, and a degree from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh as well.After graduation, she worked as the Art Director for National Transitads, Inc., and then opened her own advertising agency, Triad, Inc. in Pittsburgh until her marriage.
On April 12, 1958, she married Edward Hamilton Seneff II, whom she had met at Calvary Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh which they had both attended since childhood.After their marriage, Edward and Phyllis lived in a number of small towns in Maryland and Virginia, including Elkton, Md., Leesburg, Va., and Fairfax, Va. She and Ed had two daughters, Heather, who was born in 1961 in Pittsburgh, and Trevor, who was born in Leesburg, Va. in 1964.Ed's career(that of a newspaper editor) later took them to more distant small towns on the East Coast, including Ticonderoga, N. Y. and Madawaska, Maine, which Phyllis bore with a remarkable fortitude and good nature.The family returned to Southern Maryland in 1975.
In 1976 while a resident of Waldorf, Md., Phyllis began a successful career with the State of Maryland as a Parole and Probation officer in LaPlata, Md., and later in Upper Marlboro, Md.She was highly regarded and received many awards in this capacity, which was such a startling departure from her earlier career in the arts.She retired from the State of Maryland Department of Social Services after twenty years in this second career.
An accomplished artist who loved painting and drawing, Phyllis enjoyed going to museums and art galleries.She was interested in politics and was an avid reader.She was a Republican Committeewoman in Virginia in the 1960's, and charter secretary of Community Action Group in Leesburg, Va.A lifelong Episcopalian, her religion was very important to her.She served as clerk of the vestry at the Episcopal Church of the Cross in Ticonderoga, N. Y. in the early 1970's.For many years, while living in suburban towns of Washington, D. C., she attended the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in downtown D. C., where she had many friends.In between her careers in Art and Social Services, she worked as a substitute teacher in public schools, as an illustrator, and as an art teacher.
In 1972, Phyllis and Ed and their daughters traveled to Barcelona, Spain for the Summer Olympics for her first trip to Europe.Phyllis was very proud that she had attended the birth of her first grandchild, her daughter Trevor's son Alexander in 1999.Though physically frail throughout her life, Phyllis was a very beautiful and determined person who made friends and admirers wherever she worked or lived.
Phyllis' husband of 46 years, Edward Hamilton Seneff II, survives her.She is also survived by her brother Robert Wiltfeuer, and his wife Clara (Susie), of Sun City West, Ariz.; and her sister Mrs. Albert (Beverly) Beal, of Huntley, IL.Her daughters also survive her:Heather and her husband Roger Harrington of Seattle, Wash.; and Trevor and her husband Tony Foote of Rocky Mount, N. C.Two cherished grandchildren, Alexander and Nathaniel Foote, of Rocky Mount, also survive her.
A traditional viewing will be held at Carlisle Funeral Home in Tarboro on Sunday May 30 from 4 to 6 p. m.; a memorial service will be held after cremation at Calvary Church in Tarboro at 2 p.m. on Tuesday June l.In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Friends of the Art Center, Rocky Mount, NC or the Edgecombe Cultural Arts Center, Tarboro, N. C. 27886.
Arrangements by Carlisle Funeral Home, Tarboro.
Paid Obituary