Author Archives: jillsalahub

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About jillsalahub

Writer & Contemplative Practice Guide holding space for people cultivating a foundation of a stable mind, embodied compassion and wisdom. CYT 500

Gratitude

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1. Morning walks. While I was in Oregon the past few weeks, I hardly even went outside let alone took a walk, so it was so good to be back out there again. Things are turning golden and it’s darker and cooler in the morning. This is my favorite time of year in Colorado.

2. All the therapy and practice past me did. This past year I have lived through some of the hardest moments of my life. The reason I not only survived them but was able to simultaneously ease the suffering of those around me and take care of myself is all the work I’d put in during the years, the decades leading up to these moments.

The day after he passed was their 59th anniversary
Relaxing after I gave her a haircut
The room where Dad’s hospital bed had been seems so empty now

3. Dad’s hospice care team, Mom’s home health care team, family and friends. My brother and I were Mom and Dad’s primary caretakers these past few months, but we couldn’t have done it without all the help and support we got. In particular, it enabled us to do for him the hard thing that Dad wanted — to die at home.

4. Aqua aerobics. My love of the pool includes simply moving around in the water and swimming, but it all started with my first aqua aerobics class five years ago.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. The last few weeks of my dad’s life, being there and caring for him and assisting my mom in her recovery from a stroke, were some of the most difficult, most brutal moments of my life. I’m grateful I got to be there, AND it was so hard. I have always been thankful for the life I’ve cultivated but I’m even more grateful now — it’s just SO good, so right for me. Everything about it. Even cleaning out cupboards, which I did today when I tackled both freezers and the pantry and threw out anything that was too old — which was just about everything in the freezer we have in the garage.

Tired boy crated himself 🙂

Bonus joy: Baby Joe (born to Sarah, the only daughter of my Uncle Joe who died last year), sleeping in my own bed, being able to be there when my dad passed, sitting in the backyard in the sun with Ringo, the last of the tomatoes from the garden, muffins, the chicken noodle soup Eric made last night, lidocaine patches, my primary physician, massage, the massage chair at the gym, sitting in the sauna with Eric, texting, the carrot cake my Uncle Phil made, getting to spend time with family, being part of a family that hugs and says “I love you,” being able to interrupt old habits and ways of thinking, dental insurance, bluetooth speakers, down blankets and pillows, wool socks, pajamas, another new baby on his way, being able to let go of things I don’t need anymore because I know they are going somewhere or to someone good, letting go of grudges, being smart enough to not fall for a scam, listening to podcasts, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep. 

David “Dave” Monroe Seeger

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David “Dave” Monroe Seeger
April 13, 1941 – October 2, 2023

Dave died at home in Stayton, Oregon in the company and care of his family and hospice team. His spirit remained stubborn and strong right to the end.

Dave was born in Mehama, Oregon to Albert and Edith Seeger. Albert and Edith had six children – Virginia (Rogers), Robert, Lois (Pietrok), Joan, David, and Phillip. At the time of Dave’s birth, the family lived in a home on the North Fork of the Santiam River, later moving “to town” to reside in Lyons, Oregon, where Dave continued school, eventually graduating from Stayton High School. As a kid, Dave loved animals and anything mechanical.

It was during high school he met his future wife, Judith “Judy” Anne Lackner. Even though they attended different schools, they had a few friends in common. After graduation, Judy attended college, and Dave went to automotive school in St. Louis where he excelled. He was so good, the school invited him to stay on as a teacher, but he came back to Oregon for Judy, whom he married on October 3, 1964. They lived briefly in Stayton and Salem before settling in Sublimity with their two children, Christopher “Chris” Michael and Jill Marie Seeger.

Dave was a mechanic for many years at German Motors in Salem, Oregon, before starting his own business, Cascade Motors, which he ran out of a shop he had built next to their home in Sublimity. During his years as a mechanic, Dave was known to be incredibly talented and extremely fair. After closing down Cascade Motors, Dave spent a few years working with his son at his shop, L-5 Vee Dub in Salem, Oregon, before retiring to be a fulltime grandpa to his two granddaughters, Chris’s daughters Jessamy and Annika “Annie” Seeger. Some of the best times of his life were being with “the girls” and going to all their basketball, soccer, and softball games.

Besides his family and being a mechanic, Dave was interested in photography, loved to read, could fix just about anything, liked to go for long drives in the country, adopted the occasional stray cat, and was known for his sarcastic sense of humor. He had a tough exterior but a tender heart. His name, David, means “beloved” and he will be greatly missed, in particular by his wife Judy, son Chris, daughter Jill and her husband Eric Salahub, granddaughters Jessamy and Annie, and Jessamy’s children, his great-grandchildren Lianore and Warren.

~As per Dave’s wishes, there will be no memorial service. For those interested in making a gift in his honor, the family suggests planting a tree in Oregon through A Living Tribute or The Trees Remember, or donating to the Marion County Food Bank or Willamette Vital Health (formerly know as Willamette Valley Hospice).