Rev. Robert P Seater

The Reverend Robert P. Seater, age 88, of West Bend, WI, currently of Iowa City, IA, formerly of the Clark/Raymond communities died peacefully early Friday morning, November 7, 2014 in Iowa City, IA after a brief illness. Rev. Seater and his wife The Reverend Hilda Seater both served Congregational and Presbyterian Parishes in Clark and in Raymond. Graveside services will be held on Saturday, May 23, 2015 at 2PM at the Rose Hill Cemetery in Clark. He was born at Watertown, SD on October 27, 1926, the son of William and Lucille (Peters) Seater. Bob attended school in Watertown, graduating from Watertown High School. He continued his education at South Dakota State University at Brookings and then attended seminary at the Bangor Theological Seminary in Bangor, Maine. In 1948 he was united in marriage to the Reverend Hilda Frank Seater at Hookset, NH. She died in 2002. He served as Pastor of the Plymouth Congregational/UCC Church in Clark SD for 12 years. While in Clark he was active in the Clark Rotary Club. The Clark Rotary Club has been for nearly 75 years the group maintaining the "Little Fellows" grave, east of Clark, Rev. Seater took a very active role in this, even after leaving Clark. He wrote a poem entitled "The Little Fellow" which will be included here on his obituary page. He would return over the years several times on Memorial Day, just to participate in this service of remembrance. Rev. Seater was Pastor Emeritus, New Horizon UCC, Boltonville, WI. a congregation he served as interim pastor while they consolidated three independent rural parishes into a single new congregation and guided the construction of a new church home. He continued into this ministry after his retirement as Communications Director for the Wisconsin Conference of Churches. He was very active producing TV programming,documentary films and videos, and conducting training workshops in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Haiti. Rev. Seater was a consultant to the Odyssey/Hallmark cable channel. He is survived by his sons, Frank Seater, Iowa City IA and Bill Seater, San Francisco CA, and his grandchildren, Catherine, Libby, Margaret, Ryan, Robert and Aly. Furness Funeral Home at Clark, SD is assisting the family with arrangements where there is an on-line registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com "LITTLE BOY" Little Boy with hair blowing wildly, Little Boy son of the Prairie, standing in its vastness - waiting- waiting for a familiar sound. Listening intently. Waiting patiently. Your mother calls with an anxious voice- "Little Boy where are you? Be careful, the Prairie is full of surprises". You call back, "I'm waiting mother, and she understands". Little Boy, son of the Prairie, what brought you to Dakota? What caused your family to uproot themselves from family and friends and travel difficult miles to an endless sea of grass and sky? Was it the promise of land? Was it a yearning for adventure? Was it the goal of a new life? What was it like when you arrived from whence you came? When you stood on this land with your father and mother was it what they expected? Did they laugh or cry as they viewed the barren miles, and the realization of the work it was going to take to build a home, and make a living, and sustain a family? But you wait patiently. You wait beside a railroad track. The track that is your link to the outside world. On that track moves the produce from your neighbors farms. On that track moves people who have given up and are going back from whence they came. On that track goods are arriving that will enable those who stay to sustain themselves and build a new community and country. On that track arrives those, full of hope, who will replace those who have departed. You wait, Little Boy, patiently. And then you hear it - the whistle of a mighty engine. Goose bumps cover your skin. Your heart beats rapidly. Although the train comes frequently, it never fails to excite you. Then you see it, the mighty iron horse- belching smoke, approaching rapidly toward you. It slows, the friendly figure of the conductor, standing in the doorway, expecting to see you, shouts and waves, and you wave back so eagerly. Oh, Little Boy, you wave as the train moves off into the distance and it is gone for for awhile. Then one day the train approaches and slows and the conductor stands in the doorway with anticipation. What greets him is a grave of little boy, your grave. A silent sentinel to what had been. Your family has gone without a word. O Little Boy what happened? Speak to us from your long sleep. Were you ill? Were you injured? Were you in an accident? What caused such a young person, as yourself, to die? And of your family - who were they? What happened to that dream that brought them to Dakota? Where did they go so silently? Little Boy, rest in peace, for you are not forgotten. Your conductor friend, Bill Chambers, who waved and shouted would not let that happen. First he came and then made certain that others would carry on. So we have come today, as we have for many many years to remember you. Your train no longer runs, and the track is gone. The world has vastly changed since you stood here, alone, on the prairie in anticipation. You are surrounded, where now you dwell, with many of your friends, who stood at this place and remembered you over all these years. We pray for you, although we never knew you. We give thanks for your life among us, for by our coming here, you have enriched our lives. Peace be with you always. Amen. Rev. Robert P. Seater Memorial Day, 1995 Reprinted with permission 5/2004