Obituary of Mary Jo Seaba

Mary Jo Seaba, 77, of North Liberty, died Saturday, July 19, 2014 at Mercy Hospice in Iowa City. A memorial service will be held 1 p.m., Wednesday, July 23rd at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Iowa City with visitation Tuesday from 4-7 p.m., at the Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Mercy Hospital Foundation (Iowa City). Mary Jo Colvin was born August 17, 1936, in Elkader, Iowa; daughter of Leo and Gertrude (Hansmeier) Colvin. After high school she attended the University of Iowa College of Nursing, graduating in 1958. Shortly after graduation, she married James P. Seaba on April 26, 1959, in Elkader. She worked for 10 years at the University and spent 29 more at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City, retiring in 2001. After retirement, she still wanted to be a part of patients and their families, and the care they received, so she became a Mercy volunteer up until 2013, when an injury forced her stop. She was a member of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, the Red Hats, former member of the Mercy Guild and past board member for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters, an organization which she whole-heartedly supported. Mary Jo was a loving, caring individual who always put family and friends first. Birthdays were celebrated with gusto, and card games were always lively, and there was always time for a stop at the casino. Her family includes her children, John Seaba of Iowa City, James Seaba (Nancy) of Calgary, Canada, Bruce Seaba (Lisa) of Muscatine and Kathryn Beck of Iowa City; grandchildren, Christina Harden (Jeff), JJ, Katelyn, Sarah, Mary Alice, Benjamin and Grace Seaba and Ryan Beck; sisters, Marilyn Perin and Lorraine Peake and sisters-in-law, Opal Colvin, Marcella Hansmeier, Jean Hansmeier and Hazel Seaba. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, James in 2010, and four brothers.