Edward Patrick Seifert

Edward (Ed) Patrick Seifert passed from this life on July 10th, 2025 at the age of 75 from a short battle with leukemia, surrounded with the love of his wife and daughters.

Ed was born on June 28, 1950 to Deborah Murphy.  Siblings Katha and Chris joined in the coming years.  Ed was a Boy Scout, a proud member of the Edmonds High School class of 1968 and spent several years working at a grocery store while saving up for college (where one of his fond memories was “accidentally” dropping watermelons in the summer which the staff then had to consume lest they waste food).  Ed then attended Central Washington University in Ellensburg where he served as a Resident Assistant, did his homework before dinner every day, and paid part of his expenses by purchasing a foosball table conveniently located in the dormitory. 

After graduating with his degree in Speech Therapy in 1976, Ed moved to Burley, Idaho where he served as an itinerant speech therapist for the school district.  The next year he was coerced into a singles’ event at the district where he met first-year elementary teacher Gayle Wyckoff.  After proving his love and compassion by taking the fall for an accidentally sugar-free batch of whipped cream at a party, Ed and Gayle married in Grandview, Washington on August 18, 1979.  He was initiated into the Wyckoff family by being launched into his in-laws’ pool at the wedding reception.  The culprit who initiated the prank is still at-large.  They then moved to Aberdeen, WA.

In 1981, Ed and Gayle had the opportunity to move from Aberdeen back to “God’s Country” (the Yakima Valley) where he worked on the family farm.  A few years later after becoming a father Ed chose to return to speech therapy in order to have a more stable schedule and spend more time with his family.  In 1986 his daughter Robin was born, and in 1989 his mini-me Kim completed their family.  Summer breaks in his daughters’ early years were happily spent at Loon Lake, and as the girls got older summer travels expanded across the country.  Ed worked at Sunnyside School District for more than two decades and was passionate about helping his elementary students achieve their goals.  Almost equal to his passion for education was a passion for dominating his loved ones at games, especially Pinochle with friends, and Backgammon with Gayle (in fact you can probably still hear him muttering “doubles”).

In his post-retirement spare time Ed enjoyed obsessively caring for his yard, driving thousands of miles in dealer trades for a local car dealership, and ensuring that he hit 10,000 steps on his fitbit every day.  Ed’s family has countless fond memories attending Mariner games at both stadiums, and in his retirement years Ed became the official chauffeur for his mother-in-law who he loved dearly.  Bowling also played a prominent place in Ed’s life for years, even qualifying for Nationals.  His faith played a leading role in Ed’s life, and he faithfully attended Grace Fellowship church in Prosser.  He also enjoyed traveling which included hiking Mt. Blanc, touring Israel, returning to Ecuador (which has held a piece of Ed’s heart since his college days), and frequent trips to the midwest to visit children and then (more importantly) grandchildren.  He embraced grandparent-hood joyfully and his grandchildren had him firmly wrapped around their fingers from the very beginning.

Ed was blessed with many life-long friends that he cherished dearly; he loved his siblings, nieces, nephews, in-laws, and extended family fiercely.  His love for his wife and daughters was surpassed only by his love for his grandchildren.  To all who met him Ed will be remembered as a kind, funny person who followed his convictions.  Those fortunate enough to know him never doubted his love for a moment.

In order to avoid irritating Ed’s sinuses even in the afterlife, in lieu of flowers please send your memories of Ed to eseifert@bentonrea.com.  Memorials may be sent to Jubilee Ministries (P.O. Box 66, Prosser, WA 99350) or Compassion International (www.compassion.com or 12290 Voyager Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO 80921).

Funeral Service will be held on Friday, August 1, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. at the Covenant Presbyterian Church, Prosser, WA.  Those wishing to sign Edward's online memorial book may do so at www.funeralhomesmith.com    Smith Funeral Home is in care of the arrangements. 

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