Jimmy Carroll Seay

Jim was born in San Antonio, Texas to Thelma and Joseph Seay, on October 22, 1942. He was the youngest brother of Jerry Seay and Joe Seay. The Seay family moved a lot during his formative years due to his dad’s construction work. He sometimes attended two to three schools per year in several states, which helped his gregarious, outgoing personality thrive. They lived in Texas, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Kansas.

He and his brothers were a rowdy bunch, often wreaking havoc on their parents from a very young age! The unbelievable stories of Jim’s childhood antics are endless, and this would follow him throughout his life. If he had written a book, no one would believe it!

When Jim was 13 and going into high school, the family moved to Wellington, Kansas. It is here that his brother Joe and Jim pleaded for the family to put down roots. Wellington High School had just started a wrestling program and, with the insistence of Jim’s brother, Joe, the two joined the first team. Jim was the 98-pound class teammate and there, his lifelong passion for the sport began. He excelled in wrestling and twice won third place in the state of Kansas for his weight class. He was also a proud member of the Class of 1960.

Jim was accepted on a wrestling scholarship to Oklahoma University and studied business. After a year there, he moved to Kansas State University, found the Greek life, and subsequently dropped out. His father sent him to work in construction during a very cold winter in Chicago. Jim gladly returned to college later that year with a mindset of finishing college. His dad was a wise man!

In 1962 Jim met and married Sandra Smith and, over the next six years, they welcomed two children, Michael and Kimela. Always tenacious, Jim continued to slowly get through his studies while working full-time and coaching wrestling and providing for his growing family. He graduated from Central State University in 1967 with a degree in business and a teaching credential. Then, they had two more children, James and Krystal.

Soon after, Jim and Sandy were divorced, and Jim moved his young family to California. The kids will tell you this was a wild time in life as Jim juggled work as a high school teacher and parenthood. These stories are priceless! Jim began teaching and coaching wrestling at Highland High School in Bakersfield, California. During this time, Jim also helped start the Youth Wrestling Association of Bakersfield. In 1984, Jim began his 28-year teaching career at Paso Robles High School in Paso Robles, California.

In 1990, Jim met Stasi (Young), the love of his life. The two were 25 years apart in age and everyone thought they were crazy. But Jim’s ever-playful and youthful disposition helped to close the age gap. As Stasi would tell it, Jim was a permanent 17-year-old at heart! He was her Peter Pan. The two were married in 1992, raised Stasi’s young daughter, Alyssa (Young) Reid, and lived life to the fullest for the next 32 years.

Jim’s time at Paso Robles High School was his happiest. He loved teaching. If asked what Jim taught, he would say, “Students!” He taught many business-related classes including Business Law and Accounting. He started the Bearcat Student Store enterprise in the early 1990s and it is still in operation today. He helped start a Chinese student/teacher exchange program and had the opportunity to travel to China and teach for a summer. Jim and Stasi hosted 16 foreign exchange students over the years.

Jim’s love of coaching wrestling followed him to PRHS where he was involved, from volunteer coaching to being on the paid coaching staff every year of his career there. He was a natural mentor to many, many athletes. He combined his love of the sport and his compassion for teens who just needed a little guidance and understanding. He was a tough coach. He asked a lot of his athletes but was not one to bark orders and stand on the sidelines. If a wrestler needed to run extra laps, he ran with them. If an athlete challenged him, thinking youth would win, he took to the mat with them and won to prove his point to work harder. He would stay after practice for those who wanted to drill moves. His coaching stipend always went toward paying for athletic gear and meals for those that could not afford it. He found the positive in every athlete he coached. He helped start a scholarship for the athlete who gave it his all, even if he wasn’t the best at the sport. Giving his all was Jim’s way and his way of giving back.

In 2017, Jim was inducted into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame. An honor he shared with his brother, Joe. Jim led with passion in all aspects of his life; Always the consummate host, he would literally give you the shirt off his back and was the person you’d call in the middle of the night for help. He deeply loved his family. He idolized his brothers. He was the cheerleader for each of his children. He was a proud grandfather and great-grandfather.

Jim always ate dessert first, had a twinkle in his eye, a quick wit, a wonderful sense of humor, and zest for life. Even into his 70s, he would slide down the Slip ‘n Slide with his grandkids or do a backflip off the pontoon boat at Lake Nacimiento to prove he still could. Wearing crazy costumes, Jim swam the chilly waters of the Pacific Ocean in the annual Polar Bear Plunge in Cayucos, CA each New Year’s Day into his late 70’s! To know him was to love him.

Jim was diagnosed with dementia in 2012 and fought back every day against this terrible disease. His last week, however, was filled with mental clarity, jokes, love, and joy. A treasure Stasi will always hold dear.

Jim was predeceased by his parents, his two brothers and his son, Michael. He is survived by his mother-in-law, Janet Young, sisters-in-law, Gloria Seay and Cheryl Seay; daughter, Kim Lohman (Mark), son, James Seay (Carrie), daughter, Krystal Dailey (Mike), daughter, Alyssa Reid (Erik) and daughter-in-law, Robin Reimer (Don); grandchildren Steven Gragg, Tiffani Rushing (Cody), Kierstiana Tinsley (Josh), Breanna Dailey, Braxton Seay, Jordyn Seay, Addyson Seay, Audra Reid, Owen Winter, Dane Reid and great-granddaughter, Remi Rushing.

Stasi would like to thank Dr. Justin Davis, Jim’s first wrestling State Medal winner at PRHS, his friend and physician who took such great care of Jim over the years.

A celebration of Jim’s incredible life will be held in early November. Details will follow. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Jim Seay Legacy Award/Scholarship; 2666 Traditions Loop, Paso Robles, CA 93446.