Obituaries

Sally (Cyrilla Ann) Seymour Ruark left us at the height of her powers. All her life she enriched others with her reverence for beauty and the magical ability to create it in all she did. Sally was born June 27, 1932 in Detroit and maintained a love for cars and the open road all her life. She attended Grosse Pointe High School and the University of Michigan where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority and made friends she still saw sixty years later. After her graduation in 1954, Sally was hired by the legendary George Walker, who designed the groundbreaking 1949 Ford and the original 1955 Thunderbird, as an industrial designer with his firm where she worked on accounts such as Admiral and Westclox. Sally became a partner before she was thirty and before any of the men she knew. As an artist, Sally created sculpture, paintings, drawings, installations and the city logo of Geneva, Illinois. She had an encyclopedic knowledge of art, history and culture, and never failed to write a thank you note. Sally ran a gracious household where she took even the lowliest of insects outside. Beloved by all, none could report Sally ever made a single catty remark. Days before her death Sally’s amazingly strong constitution saw her gardening past nightfall and in her last hours, she gazed at the paintings of Leonardo. As the Catholic last rites concluded Sally faded precisely on the exhale after the final amen. After a lifetime of running late, her timing was utterly perfect. This extraordinary exit contributes to the feeling that Sally was in fact some sort of angel lent to us, now needed elsewhere. She leaves behind husband Gene, children Marnie, John, Ann and Patrick, daughter-in-law Beth, grandchildren Hannah and Grace, and sister-in-law Joan Seymour and niece Susan Solner. She is reunited in death with her parents Mary Helen Hickey and Harold (Cy) Seymour, brother Richard and sister Joan, nieces Katherine and Elizabeth, and beloved dogs Blackie, Ranger, Dixie, Mickey, Harry and Judy.

Funeral mass will be held 10:30 A.M., Friday, September 15th at St. Peter Catholic Church, 1891 Kaneville Road, Geneva. Rev. Ariel Valencia officiating. Visitation will be 4-8:00 P.M., Thursday, September 14th at the Yurs Funeral Home of Geneva 1771 W. State ST. (Rte38) Geneva, IL. 60134. Private burial will be at Oak Hill Cemetery in Geneva. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago, 17 North State Street, Suite 650, Chicago, Illinois 60602 or Fox Valley Wildlife Center, P.O. Box 385, 45 W 061 Route 38, Elburn, Illinois 60119

To leave an online condolence for the family, visit the funeral homes obituary page at www.yursfuneralhomes.com. For more information, please call Yurs Funeral Home of Geneva, 630-232-7337 or like us on Facebook.

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