Jean Iola McElvaine Seay

Jean Iola McElvaine Seay was born December 9, 1942 and passed away at the age of 82 on June 8, 2025. Jeanie is preceded in death by her mother, Louise Britton McElvaine, her father, Bruce McElvaine, sisters Bricie and Bonnie, and brother Buddy McElvaine.

Jeanie met her husband James (Jim) Seay on a blind date and they married within a year. On their first date, they found that they shared a December 9 birthday, though they were a few years apart in age. Jeanie and Jim had a loving and faithful marriage and were married nearly 60 years. They enjoyed riding motorcycles, water-skiing, scuba diving, traveling, sailing, and traveling in their trawler. Jeanie was a first rate first mate! Through sailing and boating, they formed many life-long friendships.

Jeanie was exceedingly loyal, kind-hearted and generous, with a deep love for family and friends. She loved to dance, listen to music (she really loved Sam Cooke!), laugh, play games and have an occasional rum and coke. She loved children and animals and was always up for spending time with her nephews and the children of friends. She was a faithful Catholic and had an abiding faith. Jeanie was a prolific reader and loved collecting books. She always had words of praise for her husband and loved to speak about what a good man he was.

During their marriage, Jim and Jeanie lived in several places, including Montgomery, and Birmingham, and spent many years living on Lake Martin in a beautiful home that Jim built.

Jeanie worked as a secretary at Maxwell AFB, a law clerk with the Middle District of AL, then a paralegal for a well-known judge in Montgomery. At age 41 she began law school at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, where she excelled in her studies and enjoyed getting to know the younger law students. While at Cumberland, she was a member of the Cumberland Law Review, accomplished by being in the top 15% of the class at the end of the first year, and by demonstrating superior legal writing skills. She was known for helping classmates by sharing her notes, which were written in shorthand and then transcribed for them. After graduating with honors, Jeanie joined a law practice.

Upon retirement, Jeanie and Jim spent many happy years enjoying one another. They had considered cruising the Bahamas in their sailboat soon after Jeanie retired; instead, they purchased two consecutive trawlers, on which they traveled the Tenn-Tom Waterway, as well as the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.

Jeanie was well-loved by her husband, family and friends. We are thankful God gifted us with such a precious person, one who made a difference in so many lives.