Born Aug. 13, 1926
Northhampton, Massachusetts
Died Jan. 18, 2026
Pasadena, California
Details of services
The family will hold a celebration of Maureen’s life this summer.
Maureen Larkin Seiple, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend, teacher and world traveler, passed away peacefully, at the age of 99, on Jan. 8, 2026. She touched many lives in her near-century on this planet, and left it a better place.
Maureen was born in Northampton, Massachusetts on Aug. 13, 1926, and lived in Hartford, Connecticut until eighth grade. During that time, she lost her older sister to scarlet fever and her mother to cancer. In 1940, her family moved to Washington D.C. After graduating from high school on D-Day, she attended evening classes at George Washington University, earning tuition money by working in the college dean’s office during the day.
One day a war vet named Stan Seiple stopped by the office. Maureen thought him quite handsome, and took advantage of her position to look up his schedule and sign up for one of his classes. The rest, as they say, is history, and they married shortly after she graduated in 1950 — a union that lasted 60 years.
In 1964, Maureen and Stan and their three children left D.C. for the greener pastures of Essex Junction, Vermont. As her children grew older, Maureen began searching for a career that would offer her new challenges, and soon decided on teaching.
After completing a master’s degree from St. Michael’s College, she began teaching children with learning disabilities in the Essex Junction school system. It was a career that she loved, and one in which she made a big difference in her students’ lives — and not only in the classroom. For example, she once persuaded a local merchant to provide a pair of winter shoes to a student in need.
Her students returned her affection, and some of them stayed in touch with her for the rest of her life. She loved to tell of the letter she received from one them years after she had him as a student. “Dear Mrs. Seiple,” it read, “I miss you. I hope you miss me.”
Maureen retired from teaching in her early ’60s, frustrated with the educational bureaucracy. But, still needing to be involved in her community, she began a new career working with refugees from places like Russia, Africa, Bhutan and Myanmar, helping them learn a new language and acclimate to American life. As usual, she couldn’t avoid becoming personally involved in their lives, frequently becoming a family friend. When the mother in one of her refugee families died, Maureen stayed close to her children for many years.
Whether it was her students or her refugee families, Maureen always went the extra mile. “You get involved in their lives,” she said. “You don’t just walk in, teach, and leave.”
Maureen kept busy outside of teaching. Soon after retiring, someone contacted her to ask if she knew anyone interested in trading homes for a year with a French IBM employee and his family. She and Stan decided they were interested — and within a few days they were off on a yearlong adventure that took them all over Europe. They enjoyed the experience so much that, a few years later, they arranged to spend several months traveling around Australia and New Zealand after trading homes with a family from Sydney.
In her later years, Maureen enjoyed spending time with her family and a devoted circle of friends. She was proud to be a member of the book club she helped found more that 20 years ago, whose meetings she always loved attending. She also enjoyed attending the annual fundraiser for Dismas of Vermont along with the family of one of her former students.
When Stan began his long battle with Alzheimer’s, Maureen cared for him at home as long as she could, before his death in 2011, and afterward maintained ties to his sister, Faith, and her family. In 2001, she lost her adored brother Pat, but stayed in close touch with his wife, Mary Ann, their children, and their families. She also maintained close ties with her nephew David Stan Hettich and his family. Maureen was predeceased by her granddaughter Katy Currier whom she loved dearly and whose smile and spontaneous visits on her way home from school always perked up her day.
In addition to her children, Andy, Pam and Garth, and her grandchildren, Larkin, Lizzie, Julia, Stephen, Katie and Emily, Maureen was delighted to become a great-grandmother to Gus, Rosie, Kaia, Kane and Sadie, proudly displaying to visitors their latest photos.
The family will hold a celebration of Maureen’s life this summer. We encourage anyone wishing to honor Maureen’s memory to consider making a donation to Dismas of Vermont, which helps formerly incarcerated Vermonters reintegrate with society. You can donate at their website.
