Decima Oklah Seidle, age 100, and longtime resident of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, passed away on Saturday, May 9, 2015 in the Heritage Villa Nursing Center. Decima was born on March 12, 1915 Northwest of Copan, Oklahoma in Washington County. She was the daughter of George Leonard Davis and Stella Bell (Brown) Davis. In 1920, the family moved to Bartlesville where Decima received her elementary education. The family returned to Copan and she continued her education, graduating from the Copan High School in 1932. On July 29, 1932, Decima and Jack C. Seidle were united in marriage in Dewey, Oklahoma and they made their first home south of Copan. In 1941, the couple moved to Bartlesville. Jack preceded Decima in death in 2008. They had been married for 75 years, and nine months and were the proud parents of two children, Judith Jill and Jack. Mrs. Seidle was employed in the Gas Purchases Section of the Comptrollers Department of Phillips Petroleum Company from 1942 to 1952. She then worked for a year in the library of Phillips Chemical Company. She enrolled and attended Central Christian College in Bartlesville before transferring to Oklahoma State University. She earned both the Bachelor and Master degrees in Education there. She completed separate post-graduate programs leading to certification as School Counselor in 1969, and as Elementary Principal in 1971. She studied in the specialized area of Elementary Curriculum at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Mrs. Seidle held classroom assignments in elementary and junior high schools in the Bartlesville, Caney, Kansas, and Dewey Public Schools for 13 years. She then held the position of School Counselor and Assistant Principal in the Dewey Elementary School and was Administrator of Federal Programs and Special Education at the time of her retirement on June 30, 1982. Decima was a past member of the American Personnel and Guidance Association, American School Counselor Association, and Oklahoma Personnel and Guidance Association, and was selected as a biographee for the 16th edition of Who's Who in the South and Southwest for Achievement in the Fields of Counseling and Education Administration. In 1994, Decima researched and published a book of both sides of her family's genealogy entitled "Survivors II". This book is in the Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Provo, Utah. It can also be found in the local Bartlesville public library. Decima was very proud of her family's history and made it possible for all the family members to know of their past. Decima is survived by her daughter, Judith "Jill" Jennings of Copan; her son, Jack I Seidle and his wife, Linda (Miller) Seidle of Bartlesville; four grandchildren, Jarrell Jennings, Julie Jennings, Miles Seidle, and Jacque Ramba; nine great-grandchildren, Angie Byars, Emily Seidle, Mary Seidle, Sarah Seidle, Jill M. Jennings, Meredith Ramba, Carly Seidle, Alex Ramba, and Jack T. Seidle; two great-great grandchildren, Braden Byars, and Madalynn Seidle; and two sisters, Joy Luinstra of Bartlesville and Ethel Thomas of Bowring. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Jack; two sisters, Vivian H. Ballard and Abbie A. Spearman; and a baby brother, G. L. Davis, Jr. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Decima's memory be made to the charity of choice.
Service Details
Saturday, June 20th, 2015 2:00pm, Dewey Cemetery
Interment Details
Dewey Cemetery