Annette Seib, who was born into the Depression in Hays, Kansas, and went on to become the matriarch of a large and happy family, died Tuesday night. She was 88.
Annette was married for almost 69 years to Richard Seib. Together they raised seven children who were the center of their lives, and watched with pride as their family grew to 22 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren. Known to family and friends as Nettie and Dick, they were fixtures in their St. Joseph’s Parish community in Hays until they moved in recent years to be near sons in the Kansas City area.
Annette Louise Doerfler
was born on Oct. 23, 1933, the 10th of 11 children of Joseph and Agnes
Doerfler. Her father was, among other things, the sheriff of Ellis
County, Kansas, for a time, which led to a memorable period in which his
family lived in the county courthouse and jail facility.
Growing up in Western Kansas amid the difficult economic
times of the Depression left a lasting impression on Nettie and
instilled in her a lifelong tendency toward frugality; among other
things, she was known to reuse coffee grinds for a second pot. She also
developed an appreciation of the importance of family and faith and the
value of work.
That appreciation of work, in fact, led her to meet the man who became the love of her life. While at Girls Catholic High School in Hays—where she served as junior class president—Nettie took a job as a car hop at the Yankee Dollar, a drive-in restaurant in Hays. There, one night, a handsome young farm boy named Richard Seib volunteered to drive her home after work.
That meeting blossomed into romance and eventually to marriage.
But their young marriage was soon interrupted by war. Her husband’s National Guard unit was activated and sent to Korea when war broke out there, forcing him to leave behind Annette as she was expecting their first child. Tom Seib was born while his father was overseas.
After the war, the young couple went on to have six more children, while a beloved niece, Belinda Seib, effectively became a member of the immediate family as well. All of them attended the Catholic high schools known variously as St. Joseph’s Military Academy, Thomas More Prep and Marian High School in Hays.
Nettie was an active and
involved parent in her children’s schools, as well as in parish life.
She also was a skilled pinochle and dominos player, a noodle maker, and a
master at stretching a dollar. As her children grew older, she resumed working outside the home for
several years as a sales associate at K-Mart, a job she embraced with
relish.
One skill Nettie never mastered was the ability to sit still. Sitting through a single episode of a TV show, much less a long movie, was a struggle for someone who was always seized with the need to be up and about, doing something—anything—constructive.
In retirement, Nettie and Dick were regular travelers for as long as their health allowed, crossing the state of Kansas, and periodically the country, to be with their children and grandchildren. Christmases often were brightened by gifts of handmade crocheted afghans and embroidered kitchen towels she shared with her family.
In her final days at Colonial Village in Overland Park, Kansas, Nettie never lost that nervous energy that kept her moving throughout her days, even as physical frailties made that more difficult. Her motto, often expressed to visitors and staff members alike, was that she felt a need to “go, go, go."
She was preceded in death by her husband in 2019 and by two infant grandchildren.
She is survived by a sister, Kathy Rohr, of Hays, and a brother, Harold, of Hutchinson, Kan.; and by her children Tom (Cheryl) of Lincoln, Neb.; Phyllis (Robert) Brack of Bay St. Louis, Miss.; Debbie (Bob) Lang of Amarillo, Tex.; Jerry (Barbara) of Chevy Chase, Md.; Jeff (Kelly) of Overland Park, Kan.; Paul (Johnna) of Kansas City, Mo.; and Pat (Susie) of Overland Park, Kan.; and by Belinda (Merle) Mahoney of Hutchinson, Kan.
A funeral Mass will be held at St. Joseph’s Church in Hays at 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 13, with burial at St. Joseph’s Cemetery.
There will be a visitation 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. on Sunday evening, Dec. 12, with a combined parish vigil and rosary service at 7 p.m. all at Brock's-Keithley Funeral Chapel and Crematory 2509 Vine in Hays.
If desired, friends may make memorial contributions in Annette Seib’s name to TMP-Marian Junior and Senior High School in Hays.
Condolences may be shared by guest book at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or by email at [email protected]