Marita G Seabury

Marita Granstrom Seabury, July 17, 1925 - February 13, 2014. Born in Helsinki, Finland on July 17, 1925 to Elsa and Karl Granstrom, Marita and her younger siblings, Harriet and Carl, enjoyed an idyllic childhood. The prosperous family had an apartment in Helsinki and a country home on a lake in Marudd. Her father was a businessman in the oil import business and her mother owned design shops that specialized in the embroidered works popular in European homes. Like the rest of Europe however, they were swept into the drama and tragedy of World War II. Marita later recalled that her duty during Russian air raids was to sweep up Carl, an infant at the time, and rush with him to the bomb shelter. During the war, Marita worked with the Swedish Red Cross, finding homes for children orphaned by the war. After the war, she met US Army officer John Seabury in Germany and they were married in Augsburg, Germany in 1947. As their growing family moved from one post to another, Marita worked side-by-side with her husband during his 21-year career in the Army. In 1953, she arranged to bring her own remaining family--her mother Elsa, brother Carl and sister Harriet--to live in the United States. Marita often taught nursery school and kindergarten as the family moved from Germany to assignments in Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, the Panama Canal Zone, and North Carolina. Marita had always said she wanted to settle somewhere with palm trees, so in 1960 she and John, who retired as a Lieutenant Colonel, moved to Clearwater. There she worked in retail, being on the teams that opened both Maas Brothers and Montgomery Ward in Clearwater. For many years, she was a manager at Montgomery Ward, while her husband worked at the Clearwater Beach Bank. He passed away in 1993. Marita spoke four languages, and enjoyed oil painting, pottery, gardening, crossword puzzles, and Solitaire on her iPad. She leaves behind daughters Karen, Patricia (Penny), and Ann Seabury; son-in-law Larry Tyler; sister Harriet Granstrom; brother Carl Granstrom, his wife Elaine, and their family; cousin Marian Melander; and friend and caregiver Emily Collie. Always industrious, cheerful and good humored, Marita died as she had lived and will be sorely missed by friends and family who loved her.A private graveside service and a Celebration of Life party are planned. www.mossfeasterlargo.c