Sinta H. Seiber

Sinta Seiber, 49, of Springfield, died peacefully at home on January 22, 2025. She was born in Springfield, daughter of James E and Susan H (Meyer) Seiber. She grew up in the Chatham area, graduating from Glenwood High School in 1993.

Sinta had many opportunities to explore and develop interests as she grew up. Her grandparents instilled an interest in other cultures by affording her an opportunity to go to Turkey as a young teen and the Republic of Vanuatu after high school graduation.

From a fairly young age, though, Sinta showed athletic promise. With training from her father and other coaches, she developed into a premiere softball pitcher for Glenwood teams and summer competitive teams, such as Concurrent Computer Superminis and The Chill. She will be inducted into the Glenwood Hall of Fame as an individual athlete this year. Sinta attended Northern Illinois University on an athletic scholarship, pitching and contributing to the Huskies’ softball program from 1993-1997.

During her college years, she interned at WNIU Public Radio in DeKalb, where she developed the heart and skills she brought to her life-long career in public broadcasting. From 1998-2014 she worked primarily as Program Director at WUIS in Springfield. That job included five years at the helm of the Radio Information Services and ten years as Broadcast Media Analyst for the university’s Survey Research Office. Her public radio career continued with Tri-States Public Radio at Western Illinois University in Macomb from 2015 until she was granted disability leave due to her worsening health.

Sinta was challenged by health issues from her college days on, including a malignant brain tumor, diagnosed in 2004 and successfully treated.

While in Springfield, Sinta taught pitching, both privately and at the Springfield Baseball and Softball Academy, and served one season as pitching coach for the newly established UIS Prairie Stars softball team.

Sinta married Thornton “Ched” Lane on 12/31/1998. Their son, Vaelen Lane, was born in 2002. Divorced for several years, she married Saksham Bharti on 5/30/24, from whom she was estranged at her death.

Sinta was tenacious – against opposing hitters on the mound and against debilitating health problems the rest of her life. Her unique personality, love of learning, enjoyment and appreciation of other cultures, and love of family (and the St. Louis Cardinals!) never wavered.

Surviving are her son, Vaelen of Bologna, Italy; mother, Susan Seiber of Springfield; sister, Wren Visser, niece, Niah Visser and nephew, Grae Visser, all of Phoenix, AZ. She was predeceased by her father, James Seiber, and two stillborn daughters, Hollis and Mae Lane.

The family plans an inurnment in the summer.