Reverend Thomas C. Seitz, 1952-2023

Thomas C. Seitz, Jr. departed this life in the faith and fear of the lord on March 3, 2023.

He is survived by Anna, his beloved wife of 44 years; his brothers: Chris, Mark, and Peter; his children: Sarah, Katherine, and Thomas; and his seven grandchildren: Anna, John Thomas, Henry, Benjamin, Francisca, Christopher, and Sophia.

Tom was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church in 1978, serving congregations in West Virginia, Virginia, Michigan, and Florida, retiring in 2017 from the Church of the Good Shepherd in Lake Wales, having served as rector since 1997, and then as rector emeritus until his death.

Father Tom served as president of the Lake Wales Rotary Club and as board member of All Saints Academy in Winter Haven, helping to design their chapel. He initiated a partnership with a congregation in Honduras and led the effort to design and raise funds for the construction of their church. He also presided over the capital campaign to renovate the dining hall at Camp Wingmann in Avon Park, as well as the sanctuary, offices, and parish hall of his own congregation.

Father Tom was devoted to the Kairos prison ministry at Avon Park Correctional Institution and the daily practice of centering prayer. He was proud to be a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina and a high school graduate of Christ School, whose motto, "Successus Fidelitate - Faithfulness is Success," became a guiding principle of his life. Father Tom was grateful to Virginia Theological Seminary for nurturing his joy in proclaiming the gospel and in caring for the souls entrusted to him.

A burial eucharist, interment and reception will be celebrated at the Church of the Good Shepherd on Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to the Church of the Good Shepherd, 221 South Fourth Street, Lake Wales, Florida 33853 with Camp Wingmann designated on the memo line.