Alfred Arnold Seymour-Jones

Alfred Arnold Seymour-Jones (Arnie, Al), 95, long time resident of Harrington Park passed away peacefully on April 5, 2023. Arnie was a devoted son, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather who loved time with his family, especially with his grandkids and great-grandchild. Born on April 27, 1927, he was the son of the late Frank L. and Olga M. (Young) Seymour-Jones. He was a 1945 graduate of Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood where he played tackle in football and played against the crosstown team of St. Cecilia’s then coached by Vince Lombardi. His Englewood childhood friends remained lifelong friends. After graduation, Arnie enlisted in the Unites States Marine Corps seeing duty in China. After serving, he enrolled at Englewood School for Boys for a semester awaiting his college entrance date. He was a guard on ESB’s 1946 undefeated football team which was only scored on once all season. Arnie then attended Columbia University for 3 years before being called up to serve in Korea where he was part of the 5th SBC officer’s training class at Quantico. He graduated Columbia University in 1953 with a BS in Civil Engineering and later completed his master’s degree there. While at Columbia he was a member of the football and wrestling teams. He remained a lifelong dedicated Columbia Lions fan. On June 9, 1956, he married Anene Grahn who he met on a blind date. They were married for 66 years and together raised their daughter, Karen, who is married to John Madison. (Penn Yan, NY) Arnie was a Professional Engineer and worked for Howard, Needles, Tammen and Bergendoff, the engineering consulting firm for 40 years, before retiring in 1993. Arnie was active in his community volunteering as a Boy Scout leader for 10 years, serving on the Parks & Recreation Commission and serving an unprecedented nearly 60 years on the town Planning Board. Harrington Park honored him with their Citizen of the Year award. At the Community Church of Harrington Park he was a member for 60 years, serving on the consistory, search committee, teaching Sunday School and was also recognized with their Christian Service Award. He also greatly enjoyed volunteering for the NY-NJ Trail Conference and was presented with their Dedicated Service Award in 2021. Arnie was an avid hiker into his 90’s. He was part of the Catskill Mountain 3500 Club meaning he had hiked each of the Catskill’s high peaks over 3500 feet. In addition, he earned his Winter 35’er patch after repeating each of the 33 peaks in the wintertime. He was an avid reader, loved trains, history, bagpipe music and his daily ale. Arnie was an enthusiastic sports fan and enjoyed rooting for the NY Giants. In his family, he was noted for his ability to shoot the moon in the card game of hearts and his quick wit. He has often been admired for his ship building – handcrafting from scratch a large quantity of beautiful models scaled down from original plans. He was a role model for taking aging with humor and a positive attitude. The role he most fully embraced was one of PopPop to grandchildren, Will Madison (Lake Placid, NY) and Jen (Kevin) Shepherd (Austin, TX) and great-grandchild, Ezra Shepherd. Visiting hours will be held on April 21 from 3:00pm – 5:30pm at the Community Church in Harrington Park. A family graveside service will be held at a future date. Those who wish to do so may consider memorials to one of the following: The Community Church of Harrington Park, P.O. Box 185, Harrington Park, NJ 07640, Englewood Health Foundation, 350 Engle Street, Englewood, NJ 07631, the NY-NJ Trail Conference 600 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah, NJ 07430 or to a charity of your choice.