Mrs. Seifart, of Charlotte, NC passed away on May 29, 2011 at Southminster Retirement Community. She was the daughter of the late Lillian M. Whitner (Lilliemama) and J.H. Whitner, II.
Born October 26, 1923 in Rock Hill, SC, Mrs. Seifart enjoyed growing up in Charlotte. She was an active member of the Charlotte Junior League and Charlotte Country Club. As a girl she was a camper at Camp Greystone (expert marksman) where she made life-long friendships. She graduated from Charlotte Central High School in 1941 and attended Saint Mary’s Junior College. She worked for a time as a fashion model in NYC.
Devoted to her husband and family, she loved to sew. Her children vividly recall falling asleep to the sound of her sewing machine as she worked into the night in her “sewing room”, surrounded by bolts of fabric and lace. Her command station was in the kitchen. Fortified by a glass of iced coffee and a bit of chocolate, she loved to read cookbooks, and would stuff slips of paper with handwritten recipes and other treasured articles in random places everywhere. Early cooking lessons to her children included baking chocolate chip cookies and scratch brownies. Licking the batter was never admonished.
Summer was her favorite season because then she could savor ripe tomato sandwiches with home grown hot peppers on the side. Summer also meant family trips to the beach, and naps under an umbrella.
Mrs. Seifart’s family loved dogs, especially two dachsunds, Pretzel and Zeke. Her favorite color was blue, like a robin’s egg. An avid lover of design and architecture, English boxwoods, pachysandra and lily of the valley were among her favorite plants. She amassed a collection of home, garden, and architectural design magazines that followed her from house to house. Tidbits clipped from those magazines helped provide the design for the home she and her husband built in Fort Mill. Her later years residing at Southminster have provided a caring place of grace and dignity.
In addition to her parents, Mrs. Seifart was preceded in death by her husband, Curt Seifart in December of 2002, and her brother, James H Whitner, III in February of 2007. She is survived by her sister, Lillian Matthews, of Charlotte; two daughters, Harriette S. Stewart and husband Hank, of Fayetteville, NC , Anne S. Lander, of Charlotte; and her son, Curt Seifart, Jr. and wife Diane of Charlotte; seven grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 2, 2011 at Harry & Bryant Company, “Chapel
in the Oaks”, 500 Providence Rd., Charlotte. The family will receive friends following the service. Entombment in the family mausoleum at Forest Lawn West will be private.
The family is truly grateful to the wonderful caring staff at Southminster, who shepherded Mrs. Seifart and her family during her later years, and Hospice of Charlotte.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Southminster Foundation, 8919 Park Rd., Charlotte, NC 28210.
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