Susan Metcalf (Curtis) Seaman

Susan Curtis Seaman of Bath, Maine passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family. Born to Dr. Howard C. Curtis and Ethel Metcalf Curtis in Moorestown, New Jersey on June 18, 1933, Sue attended high school in Moorestown and earned her undergraduate degree in 1956 from Oberlin College. She earned a master’s degree in Art Therapy from Rhode Island College.

Susan was a keen student of people and their emotional needs. She married Richard Fenn Seaman in 1955 and spent her early married years in Oberlin, Ohio. She began teaching nursery school at the Christ Episcopal Church in Oberlin, Ohio in the early 1960’s, and continued upon her move to Rhode Island. In the mid 1970’s, Susan began working in mental health, first as a leader in small therapy groups and later in counseling and clinical settings. She also volunteered in the visitor program of the adult correctional institution in Warwick, Rhode Island. The diverse needs of people in these settings led her to explore the emerging field of art therapy, where she continued her education through numerous seminars and workshops, leading to her return to earn her graduate degree in the field. She was a pioneer in using art therapy as a holistic health care treatment and a registered therapist with the American Association of Artists-Therapists. She continued in private practice using diagnostic art therapy for more than 20 years.

Susan’s view of the world was always framed by her artistic eye. A lover of detail and shadow, in art and in life, she always sought the deeper solaces of nature and its majesty. She found this joy throughout her life in Maine, where she enjoyed the sunsets and loon calls on East Pond, and the rocky peninsulas of the mid-coast. A talented artist, particularly in printmaking, her work ranged from contributed illustrations to teaching manuals to private commissions. She won many citations and medals from juried art exhibitions and shows for her oil and watercolor painting, printmaking and photography. One of her greatest experiences was as an Artist-in-Residence at Ballston Spa Middle School for a year, sponsored by Skidmore College, Center for Excellence, where she combined her love of artistic expression with her affinity for children’s needs.

Susan made a home filled with art and music for her family, wherever their life and career took them, from Ohio to Rhode Island to New York to Maryland to Maine. She loved nothing more than exploring the coast of Maine, particularly with her grandchildren, where she would find family-run restaurants, county fairs, and hikes with her dogs and family in tow, camera in hand. She and her husband of 65 years found a peaceful retirement in Bath for the past 15 years. She was a member of the Day’s Ferry Congregational Church, where she found great enjoyment in singing with the choir and a welcoming faith community.

She is predeceased by her husband, Richard Fenn Seaman of Bath, Maine and her daughter, Sarah Seaman Dubuque.

She is survived by sons William Curtis Seaman of Durham, North Carolina, and his wife Maura Walsh-Seaman; Paul Metcalf Seaman of Ipswich, Massachusetts and his wife Christa Mahar Seaman; and son-in-law Matthew Dubuque of Grafton, Massachusetts.  She leaves seven grandchildren, who were the joy of her life: Fenn Walsh-Seaman and Frieda Mae Walsh-Seaman of Durham, North Carolina; Paul Metcalf Seaman, Jr. and Catherine Frances Seaman of Ipswich, Massachusetts; and Kyle Frederick Dubuque, Joshua Curtis Dubuque and Justin William Dubuque of Grafton, Massachusetts. She recently welcomed her first great-grandchild, Luca DeMarco of Durham, North Carolina.

Funeral arrangements are by Desmond Funeral Homes in Bath, Maine. She will be interred at Riverside Cemetery in Day’s Ferry. Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Day’s Ferry Congregational Church or Hospice at Midcoast Hospital, Brunswick.

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