Benajah Ethelbert Seale, Jr.

Benajah Ethelbert Seale, Jr. (“Ben”), age 84, passed away in Acworth, Georgia, on June 18, 2022. The eldest of five children born to Benajah Ethelbert and Bauza Lee (Knight) Seale on September 3, 1937, in Jacksonville, Florida, Ben enlisted in the Air Force shortly after his graduation in 1956 from Riverside (Lee) High School. While in the Air Force, he graduated from Officer Training School after which he served as Deputy Senior Advisor to the Republic of Vietnam Language School where he was awarded the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, and the Vietnam Service Medal. While in the Air Force, Ben married Eiko Oshiro, the mother of his three children, and earned his Bachelors (Washington State University), Masters (University of Nebraska), and PhD (Florida State University) degrees. He served in Vietnam at Tan Son Nhut Air Base and Saigon City, retiring with the rank of Captain in 1973. Ben lived in Asia most of his adult life where he was a professor of English Language Studies in Osaka, Japan, and Taipei, Taiwan until he returned to the U.S. in 2014 after suffering a stroke and becoming wheelchair-bound. Prior to his transfer to Hospice, Ben lived the last seven years of his life in Dogwood Forest Assisted Living Facility of Acworth, Georgia, where he became "family" to the professional and support staff who lovingly cared for him. Ben was predeceased by his son, Joseph John; his parents; his youngest brother, Army Lt. Col. Leopold K. Seale, and his wife, Eiko Oshiro Seale. He is survived by his daughters, Carmen Maria Adams (Bill), Dothan, AL; and Lodi Soderholm, Eugene, OR; as well as his sisters, Catherine Elizabeth Nolan, Rhinebeck, NY; Patricia Lee Muench (Larry), Fisherville, KY; and his brother, Thomas Michael Seale (Jan), Acworth, GA; 4 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. A devoted adherent to the Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist faith, Ben’s final arrangements were carried out according to his wishes.