September 11, 1930 – November 7, 2020
Mary Dudley Seale, 90, died on Saturday, November 7, 2020, in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. A native of Frankfort, Kentucky, Dudley Seale and her late husband, The Rev. Dr. James M. Seale, were devoted servant leaders in their church at local, national, and global levels, as well as to ecumenical and interfaith causes. They loved exploring new cultures and traveled together all over the world. In their later years, they settled at Christian Care Community in Hopkinsville. Dudley Seale then lived for the last three years at Morningside of Hopkinsville. She was a member of First Christian Church in Hopkinsville. A memorial service will be held at a future date.
Dudley Seale attended Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, and graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1952 with a BA Degree in Elementary Education. Early in her professional life, she was a teacher in elementary schools and pre-schools in Kentucky and Indiana. In the 1970s, she served as the Administrative Assistant at Downey Avenue Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. Later she served as a volunteer at the Disciples of Christ Historical Society and at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. A lifelong member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Dudley Seale was active in her church as well as in ecumenical organizations for many years. She served as President of the Jefferson County Commission of Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ), as well as President of Church Women United, both in Kentucky and in Tennessee, where she received the Valiant Woman Award. At the national level, she was a member of the Church Women United Common Council. Dudley Seale served as Vice-President of the Kentucky Council of Churches and was a member of the Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Tennessee. She also served as President of the Board of the Florida Christian Center of the National Benevolent Association of the Christian Church.
Mary Dudley Seale is pre-deceased by her husband of 58 years, The Rev. Dr. James M. Seale. She is survived by her two children, Alan Seale of Newburyport, Massachusetts along with his husband, Johnathon Pape, and Lynn Seale Hazelrigg of Hopkinsville, Kentucky. She leaves behind two grandchildren, Jennifer Hazelrigg Townsend of Farmville, Virginia and J.D. Hazelrigg II of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and four great-grandchildren. Memorial