Garry Lee Seitz PhD

Garry Lee Seitz, Ph.D., 72 LAKELAND, FL. “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” His family and friends mourn the loss of Garry Seitz, 72, of Lakeland, who went to be with the Lord on January 8 as the result of Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewie Body Dementia. Garry was born on September 28, 1945 in Columbus, Ohio to Dorotha Bagford and Robert Seitz. He married Jan Priday Kraus in 1975 and together they raised twenty children: David Brown, Sharon Bowden (Newton), Erich Kraus, Arunee Gierke (Willy), Cary Paul Seitz, Jennifer Winsor (Steve), Jeremiah Seitz (Thess), Luke Seitz (Stephanie), Bethany Arroyo (Georgie), Benjamin Seitz (Paige), Rachel, Rebekah, Joshua, Caleb, Hannah, Nathaniel, Noah, Abigail, Tabitha, and Phoebe Seitz. He is survived by his loving wife and companion of 42 years, his children, brothers Tom and Larry Seitz, thirteen grandchildren, three great grandchildren and three nieces. Garry was a 1963 graduate of Grove City High School in Ohio, and graduated from The Ohio State University in 1967. He went on to receive an MS from the University of Arizona in 1970 and a Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 1974. He was employed by Chemlawn Corporation as the Southwest Regional Agronomist until he founded Green Pastures, Inc in 1980, which he owned and operated until 1996 in GA. Since 2003, he was President/owner/operator of Environmental Stewards, Inc., a landscape management company. A man of faith, he was known for his kindness and generosity, as well as a servant’s heart. He served on the Board of Elders at Living Faith Fellowship in Athens, GA for ten years, where he also taught the men’s Sunday School Class. Since 2000, when the family moved to Lakeland, he was an active member of Victory Church. However, his greatest legacy is the family he leaves behind, adopting sixteen of their children from the US, Thailand, Vietnam, China, and Ethiopia. Besides being a loving and devoted husband, his children were his pride and joy and his life verse was, “to whom much is given, much will be required,” Luke 12:48. He believed this with all his heart and endeavored to teach and model this principle to his children. We are blessed to be a blessing. A memorial service will be held in the sanctuary at Victory Church, 1401 Griffin Road, at 11:00 am on Saturday, January 13, with visitation from 10:00-11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, donations, in Garry’s honor, may be made to Victory Church missions, the Alzheimer’s Association or Good Shepherd Hospice.

Garry Lee Seitz PhD

September 28, 1945 - January 8, 2018